DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTELLIGENT ON-BOARD MISSION PLANNING SYSTEM FOR ADVANCED ROTORCRAFT

THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES A PLAN AND METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING THE TECHNICAL MERIT AND FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AN INTELLIGENT ONBOARD MISSION PLANNING SYSTEM FOR ADVANCED ARMY ROTORCRAFT. ONBOARD MISSION PLANNING, ALTHOUGH EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, IS ALREADY NECESSARY IN SOME ARMY OPERATIONS, AND THE REQUIREMENTS WILL BECOME OVER MORE PRESSING IN THE FUTURE. AN INTELLIGENT ON-BOARD SYSTEM IS NEEDED TO INTEGRATE, ORGANIZE AND PRIORITIZE EVER-INCREASING TACTICAL DATA, TO AID IN COMPLEX TERRAIN ANALYSIS AND INTERVISIBILITY TASKS, AND TO ASSIST IN TACTICAL DECISION MAKING PROCESSES. TO PERFORM THE PROPOSED WORK, IT IS NECESSARY THAT THE KEY PERSONNEL BE WELL-VERSED IN FOUR AREAS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ACTIVITY THAT ARE RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH A SYSTEM: COMPUTER-GENERATED MAPS, DIGITAL DATA LINKS, GROUND-BASED MISSION PLANNING AIDS, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. ANALYSES OF THESE TECHNOLOGICAL AREAS MUST BE CONDUCTED IN THE LIGHT OF ARMY IN-FLIGHT DECISION-MAKING REQUIREMENTS.A DETAILED STUDY EFFORT WILL IDENTIFY THE FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF AN ON-BOARD, KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEM FOR ARMY USE, AND PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT WILL INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF CONTENT AND FORMAT OF THE DISPLAYED INFORMATION, AND SPECIFICATION OF THE HIGH-PAYOFF APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THIS SETTING. THE PROTOTYPE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN OVERVIEW PLAN FOR FURTHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT USING THE NASA/ARMY CREW STATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (CSRDF) DURING PHASE II.