Intelligent Control for Automated Vehicles: A Decision Aiding Method for Coordination of Multiple Uninhabited Tactical Aircraft

摘要

In recognition of the current shortcomings of uninhabited tactical aircraft (UTA) command and control concepts for coordination of multiple vehicles, Applied Systems Intelligence, Inc., undertok an effort to design, prototype, and evaluate an intelligent, decision-aiding software system for the comand and control of multiple UTAs by a single operator. An open problem confronting UTAs is the control concept for their successful operation in combat. Unlike reconnaissance UAVs, it will not be practrical to operate UTAs with fully pre-programmed missions. Nor will it be possible to continuously fly them from remote cockpits. A new control paradigm is needed that supports a full range of intervention from direct control to supervisory control to intermittent periods of fully autonomy. This reoport explores such a new paradigm-Inteligent Control for Automated Vehicles (ICAV). The technology for ICAV traces its heritage to associate systems, decision aiding systems that follow the leadership of a human controller, but are capable of autonomous actions within bounded authority. The ICAV concept provides intelligent joint planning and assessing, distributed across the control station and the UTA mission package without requiring continuous high bandwidth data links. The single controller can support multiple UTAs due to the inherent decision aiding at the user interface provided by ICAV. In addition to defining the ICAV concept, this study has developed a small-scale workstationbased manned prototype and demonstrated the prototype for portions of a UTA strike scenario. Prototype results have been used to estimate key design and performance parameters of the ICAV concept.