Command and Control Training in Future Combat Systems (FCS) Units with Manned and Robotic Elements

"The FCS vision of future armored and mechanized military structure includes use of mixed teams of human and robotic forces on a dynamic, rapidly changing battlefield. This will require an overall force reduction with multiple entities controlled byindividual team leaders and multiple teams to be lead by higher-echelon commanders. To accomplish this, systems will have to be designed to require less human interaction and greater robotic autonomy. Successful implementation of this shift will requireautonomous and semi-autonomous robotic forces and a command and control infrastructure that will allow both human and robotic-teams to be controlled quickly and easily. Key to this will be the degree to which teams and individual robots are autonomous, andwhether the commander's human-machine interface is designed so the commander has superior control & awareness of the situation. The initial phase of this effort will determine whether an agent framework built around the three specified agent types(Tasking, Coordinating, Monitoring) can be constructed to add an intelligent abstraction layer between human military commanders and robotic battlefield entities. The focus will be to identify the human-interface issues, design potential solutions andcreate software that supports the commander's tasks and mitigates human performance limitations. The technical and theoretical accomplishments produced by this project will be crucial for successfully