Diagnostic Engine for Cognitive Improvement and Decision Effectiveness (DECIDE) Navy SBIR FY2011.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2011.2 Topic No.: N112-141 Topic Title: Diagnostic Engine for Cognitive Improvement and Decision Effectiveness (DECIDE) Proposal No.: N112-141-0697 Firm: Perceptronics Solutions, Inc. 3527 Beverly Glen Ter Sherman Oaks, California 91423 Contact: Raj Ratwani Phone: (310) 483-9494 Web Site: www.percsolutions.net Abstract: This proposal is for development of the Diagnostic Engine for Cognitive Improvement and Decision Effectiveness (DECIDE). Our proposal meets the goals of the SBIR solicitation to optimize the cognitive performance diagnostics process and "establish approaches that extend existing debrief methods for cooperative systems to guide and support facilitator-led and metacognitive level self-assessment debriefs required for the cognitively dynamic and demanding environments." We will achieve this goal by developing a comprehensive software training tool, which interfaces with current existing simulators, to provide advanced scenario generation, pre-brief, and after action review capabilities. The DECIDE system will utilize Bayesian decision models to diagnose cognitive performance, machine learning techniques for model adaptation and refinement, and an intuitive user interface for instructor and trainee interaction and diagnosis. The focus of our Phase I effort will be on developing a prototype DECIDE system for Undersea Warfare (USW). To do this we will leverage our existing technologies in decision making and training to allow us to rapidly develop a prototype system within the present SBIR budget and time constraints. Finally, as part of our transition and commercialization plan, the prototype system will assist us in rapidly transitioning and distributing the DECIDE product. Benefits: The DECIDE concept provides a number of important advantages to diagnosing cognitive performance; these include: (1) the objective authoring of training scenarios, with a clear connection between the scenario events and the underlying cognitive skills being trained, to ensure that short-term and long-term training goals are met; (2) real-time objective diagnostic measures of cognitive performance during the training scenario which are rapidly presented to the trainee in an easily interpretable format for after action review; and (3) a training feedback loop whereby trainee performance on each scenario automatically shapes the development of the next training scenario for targeted trainee improvements. The advanced capabilities provided by the DECIDE system will improve standardization in assessing cognitive performance and increase the transfer of learning. Further, the system will provide new capabilities in self-assessment and will allow the trainee to quickly understand his or her individual performance, performance relative to colleagues, and performance relative to experts which will drastically improve the after action review process. Return