N092-125 TITLE: Context-Aware Visualization for Tactical Multi-Tasking

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Battlespace

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO IWS5E Undersea Warfare-Decision Support System, ACAT II

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a software technology that reduces context switching for multi-tasking human operators using visualization tools in a tactical setting.

DESCRIPTION: The classical tactical display software application designs have been focused on providing specific, limited data with appropriate HMI and display layouts sufficient to aide an operator performing a small number of tailored tasks. The HMI actions needed to perform a particular task, while generally well constructed, focus on limiting the effort required for configuration and tool invocation. However, these display applications require significant time and many operator actions to switch task modes, reconfigure the display, select the data of interest, and get back a prior view to name a few. To augment task switching many systems have implemented concepts for operator preferences and standard display layout formulation that can be recalled yet do not address the real-time context switching issue. With the Navy''s reduced manning and increased multi-mission objectives, operators will be required to perform a much broader range of tasks under much shorter time constraints. These tasks will be heterogeneous and require diverse data, visualization tools, and display layouts to efficiently perform these tasks. In addition, operators are more likely to experience task preemption during high-tempo operations and team collaboration. This preemption causes cognitive context switching, which has been shown to hamper productivity/efficiency as well as increase operator errors and fatigue.

In the current and future multi-tasking environment, tactical display applications must enable operators to focus on their tasks instead of display manipulation and configuration. Thus, the next generation of operator visualization software must be able to adapt to the operators context instead of the operator adapting to the display configuration. This topic seeks to develop a flexible visualization software paradigm/framework that will reduce the severity of the operator''s cognitive context switching during multi-mission operations that require multi-tasking and team collaboration. This technology should address the key challenges of cognitive recall incurred when switching between tasks, association and learning of display configuration based upon recent and historical operator context while performing tasks, real-time dynamic display layout management, and be a flexible design that supports a wide array of operator interface applications.

The proposed visualization software framework must demonstrate the ability to improve operator efficiency when switching between tasks. An example of pertinent operator activity and task transitions would include ASW tasks such as mission planning, contact evaluation, and threat assessment in a distributed USW operational environment. First, the number of operator interactions required to switch between ASW tasks should be reduced by at least 50% over current surface ASW tactical displays. In addition, the tactical display presentation must be reconfigurable (at runtime) according to the operator�s preferences and retain those preferences as a function of the current task for expedient recall of operator preferred layouts. Finally, the display framework must infer, learn, and adapt to operator interactions in order to dynamically change the layout and presentation of data best suited for a task. This inference and learning must be flexible enough to aid in identifying the type and representation of data to be conveyed to the operator, but is not so autonomous that the operator�s desires and preferences are overridden.

PHASE I: Perform a study which demonstrates the feasibility of proposed software framework architecture for reducing context-switching of multi-tasking human operators. Develop an initial concept design and establish performance goals and metrics to analyze the feasibility of the proposed solution. The developed paradigm and software implementation should facilitate extensions to additional problem domains without the need for inherent architectural modifications, yet through the use of polymorphism and interface abstractions.

PHASE II: Prototype the selected technologies/concepts for next generation tactical displays that improve operator performance while executing multi-tasking, multi-mission actions in a team collaboration environment. The prototype could choose to address any number of context/task switching activities like contact evaluation, threat assessment, situation awareness, mission planning, etc. Laboratory demonstration using simulated data and displays would be sufficient for evaluation purposes. This prototype demonstration must employ metrics defined during this Phase I effort that quantify "improved operator performance."

PHASE III: Participate in USW-DSS Peer Review Process (PRP) to assess value of the prototyped technology, identify requirements, and perform technical assessment using sea-trial data. Integrate the technology into the appropriate USW-DSS software baseline and assess during integrated sea-trial test events.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: This technology has direct application to commercial productivity enhancement tools such as software development Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), operating system desktop managers, and large-scale surveillance control and monitoring. The Context-Aware Visualization technology could be used to implement air traffic control, urban threat surveillance, and unmanned vehicle deployment.

OTHER APPLICATIONS: The sought technology may be applicable to commercial solutions for large-scale data analysis, software development, security surveillance systems, or human-aided recognition systems.

REFERENCES:
1. Context-Aware Computing Applications. Bill N. Schilit, Norman I. Adams, and Roy Want. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications, Santa Cruz, CA, December 1994. Pages 85-90. IEEE Computer Society.

2. Context-Aware Information Delivery. J.JAHNKE, Y.BYCHKOV, D.DAHLEM, L.KAWASME. Revue d''Intelligence Artificielle, Volume 19, Issue 3, p.459-478 (2005)

3. Albrecht Schmidt, Michael Beigl and Hans-W. Gellersen (December 1999). "There is more to Context than Location". Computers & Graphics Journal, Elsevier 23 (6): 893�902.

4. Andy Hopper, The Royal Society Clifford Paterson Lecture, 1999 - Sentient Computing. Philosophical Transactions, Royal Society London. 2000, Volume 358, Pages 2349-2358, Royal Society, August 2000.

KEYWORDS: Adaptive Visualization, Operator Context, Task Management

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between April 20 and May 17, 2009, you may talk directly with the Topic Authors to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting May 18, 2009, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

However, proposers may still submit written questions about solicitation topics through the DoD's SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS), in which the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing until the solicitation closes. All proposers are advised to monitor SITIS (09.2 Q&A) during the solicitation period for questions and answers, and other significant information, relevant to the SBIR 09.2 topic under which they are proposing.

If you have general questions about DoD SBIR program, please contact the DoD SBIR Help Desk at (866) 724-7457 or email weblink.