The proliferation of automation within military contexts is a driving force in the effort to enhance and expand current manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) programs and policies. However, the shift from manned teaming to a collaboration between manned, unmanned, and automated and autonomous entities will also require a shift in the knowledge skills and attitudes (KSAs) trained for these teams. This will also necessitate a paradigm shift in content, as well as delivery. Fortunately, new training technologies can be implemented in order to support this changing terrain.
Overall, three broad areas of changing dynamics for MUM-T are: intuitive communication with automated technologies, trust in these technologies, and workload balance between manned and unmanned counterparts. Communication will change vastly when operators are communicating with unmanned, and automated or autonomous entities. Appropriate calibration of trust is also a large barrier to seamless MUM-T coordination, given that new technologies involving automation suffer from operators under or over-trusting them. In addition, the rapidly changing abilities of technologies as well as the needs of the warfighter will require that operators be able to manage their own workload and take on or shed tasks when appropriate.
Also crucial is the role of these KSAs in defining the training technologies being utilized. It is likely that moving forward, the challenges presented can be partially mitigated through unique training technology solutions such as synthetic crew members, designing unmanned team members for appropriate trust calibration, and technology aids for proper tasking allocation. The current paper will discuss these three broad areas, the KSAs associated with each, and the prospect of currently-in-development technologies to support the training of these new and changing KSA needs. With this knowledge, practitioners will be able to identify MUM-T training barriers within their own efforts, as well as successfully determine effective training solutions focused on those challenges.