Command and Control Interfaces for Virtual Teams

The effort proposed in this Phase I SBIR focuses on the need to develop an effective Command and Control Interface for Virtual Teams in order to improve the communication and coordination abilities of the Air Operations Center (AOC) staff and enable themto work more efficiently and effectively in the distributed environment envisioned for the AOC of the Future. While all potentially beneficial methods and technologies will be assessed for applicability, the focus of this proposal is on the gains that canbe reasonably and affordably made through improvements in mobile computing, Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) and video-conferencing capabilities. The payoff through achieving reasonable improvements in these three technology areas alone can account for asubstantial improvement in distributed communications at an affordable price. We anticipate that the improvements that can be achieved through the application of state-of-the- art technologies to mobile computing, GUIs and video-conferencing willprovide the Command and Control (C2) community near-term benefits that will result in a vast improvement over the capabilities of the communications systems currently in use. These benefits will extend beyond the AOC and into every facet of society as theproduct of this SBIR is used to enhance the way government, business and individuals increasingly interact with one another in today's electronic society.