Computer generated forces have modeled some level of unmanned systems for several years. This modeling is usually in support of manned systems instead of the concentration on the robotic system as a team member. Robotic-based systems have become of greater interest with Future Combat Systems as well as successes of unmanned missiles of recent years. The focus of the robotic systems has been in the operation of a single unmanned unit, many times tele-operated. As onboard computational capabilities have enabled more autonomous operations, the focus has shifted to more autonomous operations. The current research in the robotics arenas has focused on either single robots operating in a military environment, or small groups of robots operating in a swarm type environment. There has been little leveraging of the behaviors that are created and utilized within the CGF community.

Research at SAIC has focused on the group behavior of robotic entities operating in a live environment connected and inter-operating in a constructive CGF environment. The study explored operating robotics within a "live" (real world) environment. The information and behaviors are then fed back to a "monitoring station" where they are analyzed and presented. The system is also tied into a CGF system where the real-world information is updated in the constructive system. In addition, the CGF system provided input to the robotics team concerning the constructive world. This two-way path allowed the experimentation of robotic team members operating in a live environment, with constructive team members, and with human intervention. The behavioral test bed provided the opportunity to leverage traditional CGF system behavior insertions as well as determine limitations and directions. Some of the experimentation included behavioral insertion level (physical model level, individual level, group level), performance factors affecting the robotic team including perceived world versus ground truth within CGF and live systems. These parameters offered a rich set of experimentation results. This paper reflects the lessons learned from the research project.