2013-2014 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory (2015) / Chapter Skim
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5 Human Sciences
5 Human Sciences
Pages 115-142
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From page 115... ...
at Orlando, Florida, on June 18-20, 2013; its review of ARL's translational neuroscience program at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on June 11-13, 2013; and its review of the soldier performance and human systems integration programs at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on July 8-10, 2014. Simulation and Training Technology Broadly stated, the mission of STTC is to enhance readiness through research and development of applied simulation technologies for learning, training, testing, and mission rehearsal.
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From page 116... ...
The report suggested that the STTC and HRED increase their focus on human factors in training and continue to integrate STTC technical competencies with HRED skills in human factors research. While some progress toward this goal was evident in the present assessment, the merger of STTC with HRED needs to be taken to the next level, with greater emphasis on integration of human sciences.
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From page 117... ...
STTC is tackling a number of very challenging technical problems in training technology, such as how to make tutoring systems that adapt to individual learners, how to best manage instructional experiences, how to make synthetic entities behave more intelligently in training simulations, and how to make training simulations more interoperable. Many areas pursued by the synthetic natural environments technology group have great potential to set standards that other programs (and other Services)
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From page 118... ...
with the RAVEN system (RSVP-based adaptive virtual environment with neural processing) represents a significant fundamental advance.
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From page 119... ...
These are tools that have not been well tested or validated anywhere else. Given the central role EEG plays in the TN portfolio, this project reflects an excellent use of resources.
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From page 120... ...
Each question also gained significance by its ability to be identified, more or less directly, with a broader research question aggressively pursued in the scientific research literature. The research greatly benefited by the superb facilities made available to ARL researchers, most notably, the environment for auditory research (EAR)
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From page 121... ...
Matthews of the University of Central Florida, a renowned expert in human performance and stress. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Simulation and Training Technology General Opportunities and Challenges The Role of Human Sciences Training simulation and human behavior representation are inherently interdisciplinary R&D domains that would clearly benefit from the integration and balancing of insights and the connection of ideas from the diverse perspectives of the computer sciences and the human sciences.
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From page 122... ...
For example, how can one know how much fidelity is needed in different aspects of the simulation without understanding the impact of fidelity on learning and retention? Other vital areas that would benefit from considering human sciences include expertise and the elicitation of expert knowledge, identification of training objectives, feedback, team cognition and learning, student and expert models, learning processes, transfer, and retention.
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From page 123... ...
Aside from the work presented in the area of adaptive tutoring, which identified a half dozen reports in venues other than DoD-related conferences, STTC presenters identified almost no publications contributed by the work presented. Publications are more than a simple indicant of quality.
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From page 124... ...
What were not clearly stated was how the R&D agenda is being driven by specific Army training needs and how some of the ICT work on training is being incorporated. The domain of adaptive tutoring research is enormous.
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From page 125... ...
On the other hand, if the goal is a preparatory rehearsal for a mission, software support that is effective in integrating real-world mapping data may be quite important. Effective adaptive tutoring is likely to increase the interplay between computer science approaches and human science specialists in relation to the delivery of sensory inputs, the biosensing of the emotional or motivational state of the individual, learning theory, and adaptive testing.
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From page 126... ...
The study on EPAs presented was an excellent example of the use of the human sciences to design intelligent tutors. The study was grounded in social cognitive theory and was a simple, well-designed test of the increased efficacy of embodied agents in providing feedback.
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From page 127... ...
There was no evidence of STTC expertise in this area; STTC needs to pursue aggressive evaluation and exploitation of contemporary geospatial data sources such as Urban Feature Data Level 3, Specialized Urban Topographic Data Store, and Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program products from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency or the Homeland Security Infrastructure Program. Like the presentations on real-time dynamic physical effects in Army synthetic environments, there was little discussion about how newer hardware architectures, computing methods, and management approaches could help with this work.
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From page 128... ...
Advanced Distributed Simulation Research Overall, the challenges addressed by the advanced distributed simulation (ADS) research group are of great importance to the simulation community and the Army training mission.
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From page 129... ...
Given how fidelity is defined and mapped to a given simulation, it could be very challenging for a user to know what fidelity is needed from a training perspective. This area of research opens for STTC a real and strong opportunity to lead future developments in synthetic natural environments by using its research efforts to generate guidelines and protocols on how simulation software needs to be developed, aimed at the long-term goal of an integrated infrastructure in modeling and simulation.
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From page 130... ...
Medical Simulation for Training Research Objectives The medical simulation technologies used in training for medical interventions provided a model case for front-end analysis of downstream application needs and a model of the use of technology to provide suitable training and general exposure to individual medical personnel. This "full recurrent cycle" process -- applying, sequentially and recursively, assessment, planning, implementation, and reassessment -- seemed a model that could be extended to other research programs.
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From page 131... ...
that could prove as effective as or even more effective than holography from a cost and training perspective. Incorporating odor into medical training simulations is a relevant consideration, because numerous studies have revealed that unexpected or unpleasant odors can be a significant distraction in the field.
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From page 132... ...
. Because their goal is to assist healthy soldiers in the field, the ARL researchers have resorted to the only currently viable noninvasive technology, namely, EEG electrodes placed on the scalp.
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One control condition would be to compare search speed using randomly sorted images that are not sorted via the EEG system. Another control condition would be to compare search speed using different machine vision and automatic target recognition algorithms
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From page 134... ...
Real-World Neuroimaging The TN effort to develop nonproprietary dry electrodes is a very challenging area wherein a breakthrough could significantly impact medical EEG, human factors, neuroeconomics, and neuromarketing and likely lead to important new applications. The integration of electrode technologies with thoughtful statistical analyses for the purpose of artifact detection and classification could bring important and valuable contributions.
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From page 135... ...
However, the linkage between the research and applied functions of ARL human sciences is not apparent. For example, the Army's manpower and personnel integration (MANPRINT)
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From page 136... ...
Physical and Cognitive Performance Understanding the Effects of Physical Load A number of high-quality research projects are being conducted in this area. Participating researchers are enthusiastic and feel that they are making a difference in improving soldier performance.
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Understanding the Effects of Cognitive Load Soldier performance as a product of biodynamics and cognition is an important way forward. To succeed using this paradigm, it would be very helpful to have stronger theoretical frameworks from cognitive science for developing hypotheses and for generalizing results to new situations.
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From page 138... ...
Specific customer needs will often have broader research questions embedded within them, and effort is needed to identify and address them to the extent possible within project and funding constraints. In the past, ARL has been a leader within the military services in advancing HSI, specifically in the development of the MANPRINT tools and techniques.
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From page 139... ...
The HSI group is commendable for continuing to refine and improve the usability of its models and tools such as IMPRINT and for using these tools to support specific Army applications, but the research being conducted could have broader impacts. OVERALL TECHNICAL QUALITY OF THE WORK Effective human system performance is essential to Army mission effectiveness, and ARL's investment in quality research and development in the human sciences has potential for significant impact on the present and future Army.
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From page 140... ...
Technical problems include identifying, for example, how to develop tutoring systems that are adaptive to individual learners, how to best manage instructional experiences, how to make synthetic entities behave more intelligently in training simulations, and how to make training simulations more interoperable. STTC researchers are pushing the state of the art of simulation in the cloud and protocols for advanced distributed simulation (ADS)
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From page 141... ...
This is another area where closer engagement by human science researchers can pay off, because these subject-matter experts are generally well trained in experimental design and statistical analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. Translational Neuroscience Overall, the quality of the research presented, the capabilities of the leadership, the knowledge and abilities of the investigators, their scientific productivity, and proposed future directions are impressive.
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From page 142... ...
142 2013–2014 ASSESSMENT OF THE ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY a bit closer to turning the crank than being out on the cutting edge in the areas of interest. This is, no doubt, a function of the customer-driven nature of the projects that constitute much of the portfolio.
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