INFORMATION FOR MIXED SQUADS (INFORMS) LABORATORY

 

INFORMSSIL Front Newly established along with the CAST, the Information for Mixed Squads (INFORMS) laboratory is a first of its kind space for rapid ideation and prototyping, and a keystone for the development and integration of DEVCOM ARLs technologies into the Army’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV). The INFORMS Lab supports integrated simulation exercises and experiments with mixed teams of humans and agents, both real-world and virtual. Future extensions will support study of distributed operations through synchronous exercises with NGCV simulators at remote locations (e.g. DEVCOM GVSC in Warren, MI) as well as with teams of dismounted Soldiers and robots outside of the laboratory.
 

Laboratory Features

  • Each crew station contains touchscreen displays, a multi-function steering yoke, throttle/brake pedals, a communication headset, and a haptic belt for presenting tactile informational cues
  • 14 crew stations, each with 3 touchscreen displays and each pair sharing a centrally-mounted tablet for shared awareness.
  • 15 servers each capable of powering a unique instance of a crew station interface into a simulated environment that is common across the entire team
  • Each simulated vehicle “sees” the environment through virtual sensors and interacts with it using the Robotics Technology Kernel
  • Over 400 feet of fiber optic cable connect all crew stations and servers

 

7crewUnique Simulation & Experimentation Testbed

  • Advanced simulation of future vehicle crew station interactions as an ecosystem for examining distributed and heterogeneous teams of humans and intelligent agents
  • Focused on human-autonomy team interaction in complex multi-domain operations
  • Capability to simulate up to platoon-level operations. INFORMS houses 2 NGCV Manned Fighting Vehicle frames, each with 7 crew stations capable of controlling multiple manned and robotic combat vehicles, small unmanned ground vehicles, and unmanned aerial systems
  • War gaming capabilities that allow the Soldier to test novel teaming concepts and tactics against opposing forces (i.e. ‘red teaming’), allowing users to take risks and fail gracefully

 

Human-Autonomy Teaming

  • Our research goal is to support flexible and robust interaction among humans and intelligent agents in heterogeneous units in realistic operational environments:
    • Empower crew members to understand intelligent agent behaviors and reasoning processes
    • Unburden the unit by allowing intelligent agents to infer individual crew member states and characteristics
    • Develop and war game novel human-autonomy team interactions and responses to opposing force behaviors
    • Explore novel technology concepts that incorporate advanced, intelligent technologies as active teammates rather than mere tools

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