Weapon System Operator Tactical Operation Aids

Develop the combined use of voice commands, tactical decision aids and cueing as a form of Tactical Decision Aids (TDAs) to increase weapon system operator performance in high work-load scenarios. The combined enhancements to a weapon system have the potential to significantly reduce operator workload while increasing the Weapon System Operator's (WSO's) ability to react and proact to potentially hazardous situations. Research is needed to: Determine the basic tactical functions to be employed using the voice recognition system; Determine the best cueing methods and under what circumstances they should be initiated; Determine the TDA's that should be developed and how they should be initiated and modified in real-time; Determine the enhancement of operational effectiveness feasible for mixed cues using new technologies. Seminal research will be continued in the determination of cueing operational effectiveness of the outer to inner ear transfer and the Head Referenced Transfer Function that is critical to the faithful 3-Dimensional (3-D) audio cueing human experience. A Natural Language Speech (NLS) recognition and synthesized speech interface will be matched to suitable tactical operations to demonstrate the effectiveness of this intuitive interface. Message annunciation, situation oratory, decision prompts, alerts and warnings are part of this significant speech supported TDA. Unique to the research is the investigation and utility of using WSO initiated voice commands for tactical software function initiation in conjunction with TDA's and operator cueing for high interest action and in critical situations. A natural language interface that supports human computer dialog for ready identification and remedy of critical situations will benefit from the combination of speech recognition, speech synthesis and 3-D audio technologies. Innovative knowledge management techniques will be used to convert the C2 situation information into decision relevant knowledge. These knowledge management tools are an innovative part of the TDA which can relay e WSO through the spoken dialog interface.