DDL Omni Engineering and the Klein Associates Division (KAD) of Applied Research Associates (ARA) have teamed to conduct research related to measuring the state of Shared Situational Awareness (SSA) during distributed near-real time military operations. Our scope will focus on the Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) domain of naval operations. The Phase I research will apply a naturalistic Sensemaking Data Frame model concept, developed by KAD, based on critical ASW planning and operational assumptions. Detailed knowledge of typical assumptions will be used as anchors in the Data Frame. The ASW Data Frame model will provide the basis for a software tool that will allow participants in a distributed operational environmental to continuously assess/monitor the validity of mission critical assumptions based on their individual (local) situational awareness (SA) and easily communicate to other participants in a network when they have reason to question the validity of a mission time-critical assumption. At a tactical level, the degree or quality of SSA is reflected in acceptance of the most important assumptions underlying actual decisions. While agreement indicates a high degree of SSA, questions or disagreement with critical assumptions is a qualitative measure of divergence or loss of SSA.
Benefit: Our forecast focuses on the US Navy market as the most likely source of initial investment and sales. Our plan includes Phase II SBIR contract award in FY 2010/11 and readiness to initially transition the SBIR technology to USW-DSS by 2011/12. Planned modification to the USW-DSS baseline, supports the integration of tactical decision aids and decision support tools that would benefit from this technology. While the initial products developed during the execution of this SBIR work will be focused towards US Navy applications, SSA monitoring via sense making technology is applicable to many other DOD activities such as U.S. Armys fleet synthetic exercises, and special operations commands. Additionally, it supports national and commercial applications like homeland, port and maritime security and surveillance, medical science and integrated systems. Sales to the national, commercial and consumer markets will help to realize the full business potential of this technology.
Keywords: Cognitive Task Analysis, Cognitive Task Analysis, Dynamic Model of Situated Cognition, Data-Frame Development, SHARED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, sensemaking, Anti-Submarine Warfare, USW DSS
