KNOWLEDGEBASED SYSTEM FOR TACTICAL PLANNING AND OPTION-GENERATION

DEFENSE SYSTEMS, INC. PROPOSES TO DESIGN, DEVELOP, AND TEST A PROTOTYPE CAUSAL SCHEMA EXPERT SYSTEM DECISION AID FOR TACTICAL PLANNING AND OPTION-GENERATION. THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON WEAPON TARGET PLANNING OPTIONS, A PROBLEM DOMAIN WHERE A NUMBER OF SMART DECISION AIDS ARE AVAILABLE. NONE OF THE AIDS FOCUSES DIRECTLY ON THE EXPERT'S CAUSAL SCHEMA. THIS PROPOSAL ENVISIONS AN EXPERT SYSTEM COMPRISED OF A SUBSTANTIVE COMPONENT CONCERNED WITH CAUSAL FORCES AND CONSTRAINTS WHICH SHAPE AND LIMIT TARGET PLANNING AND A MASTER CAUSAL RULE SYSTEM DESIGNED AS AN INTELLIGENT AID TO ADVISE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE USER BEFORE THE SCHEMA IS REVISED AND STORED. RESEARCH WILL EMPHASIZE THE DESIGN OF THE GENERIC SCHEMA AND CAUSAL RULE SYSTEM KNOWLEDGE BASE AND THE DETAILED DEVELOPMENT OF A SCENARIO DRIVEN SCHEMA FOR TACTICAL PLANNING. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE AID WILL BE EVALUATED FOR A RESTRICTED SET OF WEAPON-TO-TARGET PLANNING PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF BOTH THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF OPTION-GENERATION. PROSPECTS FOR EXTENDING THE APPROACH TO OTHER PROBLEM DOMAINS IN TACTICAL PLANNING WILL BE ASSESSED.