Modeling and simulation of military operations requires human behavior models capable of learning from experi-ence in complex environments where feedback on action quality is noisy and delayed. This research examines the potential of reinforcement learning, a class of AI learning algorithms, to address this need. A novel reinforcement learning algorithm that uses the exponentially weighted average reward as an action-value estimator is described. Empirical results indicate that this relatively...
Topics: reinforcement learning, architecture, agents, autonomous systems
Autonomous systems provide the military with advanced capabilities permitting the execution of increasingly dangerous and difficult missions. A human in the loop is still required to decide how and when to deploy these technologies. The research problem this dissertation addresses is a user’s rejection of new technology in high-risk applications due to a lack of trust in the use of the technology. This is a problem because users’ lack of trust in new technology, designed to support users in...
Topics: technology trust, autonomous systems, technology risk, anthropomorphic hierarchy, technology system...
Forward operating bases are vulnerable to terrorist activity due to their location and limited resources. Threat awareness under these conditions is paramount to the safety of the personnel and to mission accomplishment. In the absence of the manpower required to maintain complete and continuous monitoring of the FOBs surroundings, an automated surveillance system is needed. The Smart FOB Surveillance System (SFSS) employs a multi-agent behavior analysis and decision system with Swarm...
Topics: Systems Engineering, Autonomous Systems, Surveillance, Force Protection.
In the year 2016, many of these predictions have either come true, are in progress, or surely will materialize within the next 509 years. Throughout history, mankind has maintained the desire to continually expand the bounds of science and nature in search of something newsometimes benefitting the species, at other times threatening it. Just as the nuclear revolution led to advances that would threaten the world, it also created opportunities to benefit mankind. Twenty years after the first use...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Guillot,W M, Air University Maxwell AFB United States, technology forecasting,...
Adaptive autonomous systems of interest to DoD have great potential to complement human performance in a wide range of missions. This particularly is true for adaptive systems that learn those whose behavior on a given set of inputs may change over time, even after the system has been fielded. However, such adaptation makes exhaustive testing, certification, and licensure of the final system impossible.
Topics: DTIC Archive, Tate,David M, Institute for Defense Analyses Alexandria, unmanned vehicles,...
Autonomous aerial systems have started to gain much traction in the military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance domain. The remotely piloted systems, such as the Predator, are already successful unmanned systems; the next step forward is to use autonomous systems to overcome high manning requirements. These systems are scalable and serve as excellent force multipliers, but there are other technological issues to overcome to qualify an autonomous aerial system, such as navigation and...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Teo,Kenny, NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA MONTEREY United States, autonomous...
Viewgraph/Briefing Charts
Topics: DTIC Archive, National Defense Industrial Association Arlington United States, AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS,...
This volume covers the subject of autonomous systems, which stand potentially to transform the way in which warfare is conducted. Advances in sensors, robotics and computing are permitting the development of a whole new class of systems, which offer a wide range of military benefits including the ability to operate without personnel on board the platform, novel human-machine teaming concepts, and swarm operating methods. With any such transformational advances, there are unique operational,...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Anderson,James M, NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMAND TRANSFORMATION NORFOLK VA NORFOLK,...
U.S. and foreign technology and capability development is pushing existing human-machine systems to the edge of their abilities by introducing extreme timescales, high levels of complexity, severe risk to warfighters, and increasing costs. While these trends and the challenges they pose to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) do not appear likely to abate, autonomy has the potential to enable U.S. forces to break out of current limitations by allowing systems to understand the environment, to...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Office of Technical Intelligence (ASDR and E) Washington United States, autonomous...
This study examines the moral, ethical, and legal issues surrounding the development of autonomous systems capable of employing lethal force. It explores the international law principles that will inform questions concerning the legality of these systems along with the moral and ethical arguments both for and against these systems. It then assesses the implications of the current approaches for developing an ethical reasoning capability for a machine along with the necessity of establishing...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Domsalla,Matthew R, AIR UNIV MAXWELL AFB AL MAXWELL AFB United States, AUTONOMOUS...
Since their introduction, robots and the technology that drives them have continued to evolve rapidly. That technology is now on the verge of becoming fully autonomous and lethal. Many are fearful and outright oppose the development of Lethal Autonomous Systems (LAS) or what some call killer robots. However, when we look back twenty years from now and LAS have replaced man on the battlefield, many of those same people and organizations will look back and wonder why, despite their efforts, they...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Phillips,D L, Naval War College Newport United States, unmanned aerial vehicles,...
Issues related to defining the Soldiers role in future battlefields populated by autonomous systems are driving important US Army research programs. Mixed-initiative systems entailing shared decision-making between humans and intelligent software are a promising strategy that combines the advantages of human insight and autonomous control. This report discusses empirical results related to shared decision-making in the context of military applications including outcomes from research on...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Barnes,Michael J, US Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen Proving Ground United States,...
MIT LL and CSAIL have enjoyed several collaborations over the past decade. Collaborative projects have been very diverse, spanning several areas of CSAIL concentration, including robotics, big data analytics, wireless communications, computing architectures and technologies, and cyber security. Nevertheless, the consensus of the committee is that, given the large overlap in interests and the dramatically growing importance to national security of several key CSAIL core areas, collaborations and...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Bond,Robert A, MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH LEXINGTON LEXINGTON United States,...
Complex networks have been shown to exhibit universal properties, with one of the most consistent patterns being the scale-free degree distribution, but are there regularities obeyed by the r-hop neighborhood in real networks? We answer this question by identifying another power-law pattern that describes the relationship between the fractions of node pairs C(r) within r hops and the hop count r. This scale-free distribution is pervasive and describes a large variety of networks, ranging from...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Papalexakis,Evangelos, CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIV PITTSBURGH PA PITTSBURGH United States,...
Adaptive autonomous systems of interest to DoD have great potential to complement human performance in a wide range of missions. This particularly is true for adaptive systems that learnthose whose behavior on a given set of inputs may change over time, even after the system has been fielded. Such adaptation, however, makes exhaustive testing, certification, and licensure of the final system impossible. The challenge is to establish high confidence that the system will perform dependably and...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Tate,David M, Institute for Defense Analyses Alexandria, AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS, ADAPTIVE...
Team VaCAS developed a cooperative unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) system for MAGIC 2010 competition. The system includes a cooperative estimation and control strategy, its software, UGVs and the so-called platform- and hardware-in-the-loop simulator (PHILS) which allows the performance evaluation of multi-UGV system in a virtual environment. Team VaCAS also constructed outdoor and indoor test areas for June site demonstration. Out of the developments, a cooperative estimation and control...
Topics: DTIC Archive, VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND STATE UNIV BLACKSBURG VIRGINIA CENTER FOR AUTONOMOUS...
The 2018 Conference of the NDIA Human Systems Division (HSD) is designed to serve the Department of Defense and strengthen the defense industry. This is the mission of the NDIA and its members: 1,600 corporations and 85,000individuals. The HSD conference supports the mission by bringing DoD S and T leadership, representatives of industry, and other guests into discussion over accomplishments of DoD human systems research and development, gaps in DoD human systems, and emerging research and...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Freeman,Jared, NATIONAL DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION ARLINGTON VA ARLINGTON United...
.Successive UK governments have recognized the enduring importance of maritime power for Britain as an island nation and have directed the Royal Navy (RN) to retain and develop a powerful, adaptable maritime warfighting force. The future multidomain maritime battlespace will be a competition between access and denial. Maritime Autonomous Systems (MAS) offer a means of ensuring the RNs future remains credible and expeditionary. The RN has a decade-long interest in MAS. Despite establishing a...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Spencer,Ashley C, NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIV NORFOLK VA NORFOLK United States, united...
Successful landing of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle requires a high degree of accuracy and efficient, real-time processing. This research applies systems engineering concepts to investigate the feasibility of applying computer vision techniques and visual feedback in the control loop for an autonomous system. This thesis examines the framework and performance of an algorithm designed to detect and track a runway in images captured from a camera onboard an aircraft during the final...
Topics: DTIC Archive, McCarthy,Tyler B, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, AUTONOMOUS...
Viewgraph/Briefing Charts
Topics: DTIC Archive, National Defense Industrial Association Arlington United States, robots, ground...
The use of autonomous weapon systems (AWS) in warfare is not a new concept. One could argue that the development and integration of such systems have evolved over the last century and accelerated significantly after the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks on the U.S. homeland. AWS will likely continue to grow in both capabilities and numbers. This growth of unmanned systems is not limited to the U.S. military or even the United States; it is an international phenomena that includes government and...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Caton,Jeffrey L, ARMY WAR COLLEGE CARLISLE BARRACKS PA CARLISLE BARRACKS, unmanned...
The primary objective of Quantitative Technology Assessment (QTA) is to explore the design space of technology alternatives currently under research by the MAST Consortium, and then quantitatively assess technology impacts on overall mission effectiveness. This seeks to answer two primary research questions: what combinations of Microsystems will best enable mission success, and how to quantify the technology gap between the Warfighter and the technologist. Considering the current work of the...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Mian,Zohaib, GEORGIA INST OF TECH ATLANTA GEORGIA ATLANTA, resonant, aircrafts,...
The U.S. Navy seeks to reduce costs associated with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations by exploring the use of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). Currently, the process of finding submarines tends to be tedious and manpower intensive due to the high volume of acoustic data with limited means to filter for valuable information. Therefore, innovative software frameworks are required to transition from a one-to-many to a many-to-one USV/ human interaction model. By examining potential software...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Fahey,Stephen Jr F, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, UNMANNED...
This project is performed under the Office of Naval Research program on Basic and Applied Research in Sea-Based Aviation (ONR BAA12-SN-0028). This project addresses the Sea Based Aviation (SBA) initiative in Advanced Handling Qualities for Rotorcraft.Landing a rotorcraft on a moving ship deck and under the influence of the unsteady ship airwake is extremely challenging. In high sea states, gusty conditions, and a degraded visual environment, workload during the landing task begins to approach...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Horn,Joseph F, The Pennsylvania State University University Park United States,...
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) need tohandle more autonomy and perform more intelligent behaviors. These systems will be deployed in clusters with human supervisors to perform collaborative missions. A UAS will take on expanded roles invoking higher-order decision-making functions and capabilities supporting autonomous mission planning,resource allocation, route planning, scheduling, and execution of coordinated tasks.
Topics: DTIC Archive, Bush,Lawrence A, MIT Lincoln Laboratory Lexington United States, unmanned aerial...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Gray,Steven, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories Cherry Hill United...
Small autonomous vehicles can carry only a limited assortment of sensing and computational devices. One method of increasing these vehicles capabilities is to access offboard, networked resources. A useful resource for robotic systems would be a threedimensional model of the environment, continually updated and made available via netcentric applications. Researchers at Lincoln Laboratory are exploring the use of such a world model by autonomous vehicles to improve the detection of objects of...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Viggh,Herbert E, MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH LEXINGTON LEXINGTON United States,...
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) would like to have real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data about a landing zone (LZ) prior to the aircraft entering its terminal phase of flight. This thesis provides a feasibility analysis and prototyping of a fast autonomous recon system. Field tests were conducted in the Mojave Desert using a delivery system (1/2 scale Patriot Missile rocket kit) and two aerodynamic test sets (ATS); the delivery system and test sets were...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Torres,Marcus A, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, drones, drafting,...
While highly constrained language can be used for robot control, robots that can operate as fully autonomous subordinate agents communicating via rich language remain an open challenge. Toward this end, the central goal of the SUBTLE MURI project was to develop an autonomous system that supports natural, continuous interaction with the operator through language before, during, and after mission execution. The operator communicates instructions to the system through natural language and is given...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Yanco,Holly A, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia United States, artificial...
This report contains a review of the Knowledge Enhanced Electronic Logic (KEEL) technology, which provides a method of encoding expert knowledge for system control. KEEL allows a user to use drag-and-drop features of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to reflect complex interrelationships between variables of a system. This allows the user to simulate the operation of the system in real time and fine-tune the relationships between inputs and expected system behavior. Once complete, KEEL can...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Mehmood,Abid, NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER DAHLGREN DIV VA DAHLGREN United States,...
The current challenge of autonomy is to achieve a reasonable scaling between task breadth and system resources. As processing resources are a limiting factor for autonomous operations in complex environments, the incorporation of new enabling low power processing technologies into autonomous systems is important to overcoming current limitations and keeping pace with peer adversaries. With the increasing variety of processing technologies, the number of design choices for implementing...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Rosenbluth,David, Lockheed Martin Cherry Hill United States, algorithms, COGNITIVE...
This DRI TECHNICAL PROGRAM (Emerging Dynamics Of The Marginal Ice Zone) brings together a high-level (global) scientific team in order to better understand the ocean, sea ice and atmosphere interaction within the marginal ice zone (MIZ) north of Alaska. The aim of this multi-disciplinary group is to deliver a step change in our understanding of the processes within the MIZ. This is being achieved through a comprehensive, and continuous observational program of the key physical parameters that...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Wilkinson,Jeremy, British Antarctic Survey Cambridge United Kingdom, marginal ice...
In Phase III of the Micro-Autonomous Systems Research (MASR) project, the Georgia Tech ARL team extended an automated product family engineering process and toolset allowing the creation of tailored one-off unmanned aerial System (UAS) solutions to Soldier needs. The toolset provides a simplified user interface for non-technical users to enter vehicle requirements, such as sensor packages, endurance, payload, etc. A logistics interface allows an untrained logistics operator to enter machines...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Cooksey, K D, GEORGIA INST OF TECH ATLANTA GEORGIA ATLANTA United States, aircraft...
The objective of this capstone project was to build a simulated system using the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System/Defense Acquisition System (JCIDS/DAS) process to gain insight into JCIDS/DAS as it relates to unmanned robotics systems. JCIDS and DAS are the Department of Defenses procedures and guidelines for acquiring military programs. Using JCIDS/DAS and system engineering (SE) methodology, the team developed a radiological clearance system (RCS) and an unmanned ground...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Furman,Francois, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, SYSTEMS...
Dialogic Design International (DDI) presents a final report for the Autonomy Discovery project, a series of workshops and investigations held between August 2014 and March 2016 to support an autonomy research collaboration aimed at long-term R and D outcomes across AFRL directorates (RY, RH, RI) and AFIT. The project was designed to engage scientific staff from across AFRL in a series of problem finding (discovery) and problem-solving workshops, expanding stakeholder engagement to build...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Jones,Peter H,, Dialogic Design International Dayton United States, autonomous...
As the technological capabilities of the worlds combat systems grow at a breathtaking pace, the reins by which humanity regulates and directs these instruments of destruction must keep pace. Unmanned Tactical Autonomous Collaboration and Control (UTACC) is a system of systems that will reduce the cognitive load of the warfighter while enhancing mission effectiveness. With any emerging concept, testing and development of UTACC are critical underpinnings of successful deployment to operating...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Kirkpatrick,Timothy D, Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, unmanned...
The United States wants to fight a war of annihilation because it is well suited to do so. However, the U.S.'s adversaries have a vote in this and have decided that it is in their own best interest to prevent the U.S. from being able to fight such a war. Rather, the adversaries have adopted A2/AD strategies that would force the U.S. to fight an undesirable war of attrition in order to achieve their objective. The current strategy to counter A2/AD is a strategy that forces the tenets of an...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Gorrell,Richard, Air Command and Staff College, Air University Maxwell Air Force Base...
Micro vehicles (MVs) are projected to play an increasing role in both civilian and military applications. However, even with minimal payload, present day battery powered micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) have time-of-flights measured in minutes, woefully short for military applications. Since battery mass already accounts for a significant portion of the overall system mass, increasing battery size to boost MV endurance is not the solution. On the other hand, if the energy storage device can be...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Bundy,Mark L, US Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen Proving Ground United States,...
This report provides a summary of the research and related activities performed. The issue of trust is one of the most significant obstacles to broad use of autonomy technology by DoD and other agencies. The impact of this research supports creation of computational methods that create a bridge to engineering of trustworthy autonomous systems. Objectives of this research were (1) to operationalize the quality of benevolence and understand how it contributes to well-calibrated trust of, and...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Atkinson, David J, FLORIDA INST FOR HUMAN AND MACHINE COGNITION INC PENSACOLA FL...
America is a maritime nation with global responsibilities that require its naval forces to be respected around the world and decisively be where it matters, when it matters. More than ever, our Sailors and Marines depend upon technological advantages to help keep the peace, fight, win and come home safe-I am certain this strategy delivers that for them. The Office of Naval Research was established by law in 1946 to ensure the technical superiority of our Navy and Marine Corps. Since then,...
Topics: DTIC Archive, OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH ARLINGTON VA ARLINGTON United States, naval operations,...
The emerging field of microrobotics facilitates precise manipulation of objects at the microscale, which has many applications in medicine and microassembly. This project advanced both sensing and motion capabilities of the Naval Academys microrobot system, bringing it from a planar system to a three-dimensional system that utilizes an adaptive controller for autonomous operation. Reproducible, robust robot control is particularly challenging at the microscale, where lesser understood surface...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Cooke,James F, NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS MD ANNAPOLIS United States,...
Army Research and Development Request (ARDR) 16/0054 requires examination of the opportunities for employment and associated effects of autonomy and automation across Combat Service Support (CSS) functions. This report outlines the results of a scoping study, subject matter expert discussions and workshop, and use case development for automated and autonomous systems for CSS. The scoping study covers key concepts and trends, a technology scan, and identification of potential applications for...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Ivanova,Ksenia, Defence Science and Technology Group Edinburgh SA Australia, Military...
This report describes the design of an autonomous amphibious system and associated software architecture being developed under the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) Naval Innovative Science and Engineering (NISE) Program to augment the manned amphibious force. Amphibious landings and assaults are inherently dangerous and complex military operations, especially on a congested shore in an A2/AD environment. An unmanned amphibious capability is desirable to reduce the...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Kogut,Greg, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific San Diego United States,...
The further development of Unmanned Tactical Autonomous Control and Collaboration (UTACC) requires a thorough analysis of potential unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) capable of supporting the program. This thesis developed a comprehensive database with which to conduct an analytical evaluation of UAVs to include physical specifications, performance specifications, and sensor capabilities. This research determined that an aircraft satisfying established performance characteristics, capable of...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Roth,Brian M, NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA MONTEREY United States,...
Leveraging robotic, autonomous, or unmanned technologies in life-saving roles presents great opportunities for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Autonomous systems are emerging, and technology is evolving at a staggering rate across a variety of warfighting domains.
Topics: DTIC Archive, Ramiccio, John, U.S. Naval War College Newport United States, robotics, autonomous...
In Phase II of the Micro-Autonomous Systems Research project, the Georgia Tech teams developed an automated product family engineering process and toolset allowing the creation of tailored one-off solutions to soldier needs. The toolset provides a simplified user interface for non-technical users to enter vehicle requirements, such as sensor packages, endurance, payload, etc. A spreadsheet logistics interface allows an untrained logistics operator to enter machines and parts availability. This...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Cooksey,K D, Aerospace Design Laboratory Atlanta United States, unmanned aerial...
This conference will address the theme, Strengthening Capability through the Development of People and Technology. The conference will provide a forum for discussing methods to enhance defense-related capabilities - not only through available technology, but also through development of personnel. A broad range of topics related to design and development of technology and training and development of people in the gun and missile system industry will be presented. The full scope of gun and...
Topics: DTIC Archive, National Defense Industrial Association Arlington, ENERGETIC MATERIALS, AMMUNITION,...
Briefing charts
Topics: DTIC Archive, Bornstein,Jon, Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen Proving Ground United States,...
Autonomous exploration is a critical capability for robots deployed in real-world situations. Often, these robots are required to navigate environments with little or no prior knowledge in an efficient manner. We investigate an approach to such exploration that selects between candidate frontiers based on the expected information gain. The system uses entropy values of the area map as a measure of the change in overall information and employs established simultaneous localization and mapping...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Fung, Nicholas C, US Army Research Laboratory Adelphi United States, AUTONOMOUS...
This thesis develops and analyzes the functional architecture for an autonomous unmanned aerial system performing an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission without a continuous communication link to human operators for trust needs. The factors that affect human trust are developed from a literature review covering theory and empirical studies that have investigated the importance of human trust in human-automation interactions. The identified factors are applied to the...
Topics: DTIC Archive, Johnson,Bradley A, NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA MONTEREY United States,...
