Main Subcommittee Category: Training
How would you label your submission?: Industry
Abstract:
The DoD is strategically pursuing advanced technology solutions to enhance existing training systems and prepare its warfighters for high-end combat. Traditional means of assessing student performance are subjective, generalized, and subject to bias, presenting challenges when adapting to emerging training environments. There is a need to accelerate skill acquisition in any context through adaptive and personalized training, standardized assessments, and contextualized performance feedback/insights. Additionally, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for data analytics and performance modeling has the potential to reduce subjectivity for military training, accelerating learning and optimizing performance outcomes across the DoD. Design Interactive, supported by funding from the Office of Naval Research and Air Force Global Strike Command, applied a research-based approach to develop a sustainable and extensible training and evaluation tool that provides assessment of performance through blending instructor insights with standardized, competency-based rubrics, and structured After-Action Review (AAR).
To meet the needs of modernizing training environments, a method for integrating simulator data to provide automated, AI-driven performance insights and analytics was conceptualized. Outcomes of this effort have resulted in an approach for integrating virtual flight training data to provide standardized, human-in-the-loop performance assessment combined with automated performance metrics, reducing subjectivity and accelerating learning across military training environments. This paper discusses the behavioral assessments that are foundational to this system, the development of a performance algorithm to train the system’s AI from real-world user data, and results from user testing that continue to inform designs for more contextualized feedback and additional assessment methods to be incorporated into future versions of the software. Design Interactive aims to enhance warfighter competence, reduce training costs, and improve mission readiness. This work is continuing to inform R&D efforts across the Marine Corps and Air Force and has been tested within a wide range of use cases from military, medical, academic, and industrial settings.
Keywords: ADAPTIVE;ASSESSMENT;BLENDED TRAINING;ENHANCING PERFORMANCE;HUMAN PERFORMANCE;SIMULATORS