Melissa Walwanis

Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) Training in Air Combat: Emergent Training Opportunities and Fidelity Ripple Effects

Live training is where air combat personnel gain practice and experience with situations as close to real combat as possible. Computer-generated entities could expand the range and complexity of scenarios used in live training and could offer instructors a new means of manipulating the training environment. These new capabilities might help aircrew boost their proficiency beyond what is currently achieved in live training. On the other hand, computer-generated entities add artificiality to the live training environment, reducing its similarity to real combat. As part of a research program conducted to examine how the introduction of Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) training technology may change air combat training, we identified strategies to support learning and the acceleration of proficiency development. In this paper, we present these new possibilities for live training and discuss their implications for the fidelity of the training experience, related research, and research needs.

Fidelity Requirements for Effective Live-Virtual-Constructive Training of Navy F/A-18 Pilots: An Exploratory Survey Study

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) training program seeks to safely integrate virtual tracks (display symbols that represent aircraft flown by pilots in simulators) and constructive tracks (symbols that represent computer-generated aircraft) into live F/A-18 E/F/G radar and cockpit sensor system displays to reduce resource demands and support new capability requirements in air combat training. In a preceding effort, the researchers identified a number of aircrew concerns about the design of LVC training technology and its potential effects on air combat training quality and realism. Based on these findings, the researchers conducted an exploratory survey to better establish and gauge LVC fidelity requirements. Thirty air combat training professionals completed the survey. The survey results, presented herein, will be used to guide LVC engineering decision-making and design trade-offs.

Envisioned World Research Guiding the Design of Live-Virtual-Constructive Training Technology and its Integration into Navy Air Combat Training

The Navy is investigating the use of Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) simulation to train F/A-18 pilots. LVC, which introduces computer-generated tracks into live training, will be embedded into Navy air combat training, an extremely complex and nuanced system. This paper describes research conducted to facilitate the integration of this new technology into the existing training system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 air combat professionals to understand their training system and the ways LVC technology could affect its safety and effectiveness. Results reported here focus on ways LVC technology could be employed to benefit air combat training. Associated research required to determine the best LVC design requirements for enabling those employment strategies within Navy training were also identified. A case is made for the utility of this type of future-system exploration research; such research is invaluable to systems acquisition, which frequently involves making changes to existing complex systems.

Musically inspired computer interfaces: reaction time and memory enhancements in visuo-spatial timelines (ViST) for graphic user interfaces

A principal component of simulation-based training is the collaboration of distributed instructor teams. The cognitive workload of instructors during complex scenarios rapidly increases to levels that result in impaired performance. Empirical research on the investigation of cognitive performance and optimization for timeline GUI supported Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is limited. As part of the research and development of a specialized Graphic User Interface (GUI) for aviation instructors, we evaluated the differences between multi-timeline displays in a traditional, alphanumeric format and an alternative, visuo-spatial format. The current study investigated user cognitive efficiency (i.e., reactions times, memory performance) when interacting with traditional alphanumeric Timelines (AnT) and Visuo-Spatial Timelines (ViST). Stimuli complexity was controlled for density and set size. MANOVAs and ANOVAs revealed significant differences in favor of ViST conditions. For ViST users average reaction times decreased by 43.34% and 51.33% (3.78 s; 2.31 s) for last event and simultaneous events detection, respectively, and, cued recall performance increased on average by 22.5%. Inspired by musical notation, the alternative timeline design of ViST was designed to support human processing characteristics. Our findings indicate that individual users demonstrate enhanced performance compared to traditional, vertically oriented timelines. The findings presented have supported the Graphic Embedded Timeline (G.E.T.) Tools, a GUI module in use by the U.S. military. The ViST performance enhancements provoke the reevaluation of GUIs designed with list formats, such as drop-down menus, and emphasize research and design of visuo-spatial formats.

Improving Understanding of Mindfulness Concepts and Test Methods

The concept of mindfulness is largely dependent on one’s theoretical perspective but, in general, there is agreement that it involves open receptive attention, present moment awareness, and de-automization in thought processes. As a contemplative training intervention, mindfulness has been especially lauded by many practitioners as making improvements to performance ranging from increased productivity to enhanced decision making [11]. While some of these results are backed by empirical evidence, the scientific community lags in comprehensively validating these claims [19]. This has resulted in calls from the science community to establish a comprehensive research agenda across disciplines of Psychology to address the need to underpin practical prescriptions with empirically derived principles and guidelines [5, 6, 12, 19]. This paper reviews some of the criticisms of the existing body of literature and provides recommendations for moving towards a rigorously informed evidence-based practice. Next, we integrate frameworks for mindfulness concepts across disciplines and offer consideration of how Modeling and Simulation, in combination with proven statistical methods, can be utilized to understand the relationships and significance of mindfulness factors. Finally, we discuss the plausibility of further mindfulness research and test methods with the potential to improve human performance across a wide variety of activities.

Analyzing Past Mishaps to Explore Safety Considerations within a Live-Virtual-Constructive Environment

The U.S. Navy is investigating safety issues inherent to adding Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) training functions to cockpits of F/A-18 aircraft. The current study examined previously investigated air combat training mishaps to identify common causal factors that may be exacerbated or mitigated within the LVC training environment. That is, by understanding the factors contributing to past mishaps, we can consider whether those similar factors might interact negatively with LVC technology to degrade safety in training exercises. A total of 167 relevant mishap summaries were collected and analyzed using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). The majority of mishaps occurred unintentionally through skill-based errors (n = 115) and decision errors (n = 102). Additionally, adverse mental states (n = 43), and communication coordination (n = 56) accounted for the majority of the mishaps under preconditions for unsafe acts. Lastly, at the supervisory and organizational level of the HFACS taxonomy, inadequate supervision (n = 32) and organizational process (n = 13) accounted for a high number of the mishaps. A sub-categorical analysis revealed the majority of incidents occurred by means of poor in-flight planning and loss of situation awareness. These results will facilitate the safety of introducing LVC training by highlighting factors that tend to contribute to mishaps so that they can be monitored during the transition.

An Assessment of a Complex Training System’s Resilience to Change Associated with the Introduction of the Live-Virtual-Constructive Training Paradigm

Introducing the Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) training paradigm into live air combat training means introducing significant changes into a complex and established training system. To facilitate the transition, research was performed to identify possible new hazards that might emerge as a result of the changes and to assess the ability of the live training system to withstand them. Aircrew interviews were conducted and submitted to qualitative analysis, the results of which were further assessed by air combat experts, to identify both potential hazards and mechanisms the training system uses to withstand, or be resilient to, hazards. This paper focuses on those system resilience mechanisms and their adequacy for protecting system effectiveness and aircrew safety in the face of changes associated with the adoption of LVC training.

A Multi-Year Assessment of the Safety of Introducing Computer- Generated Aircraft into Live Air Combat Training:

In the U.S. Navy’s proposed Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) air combat training system, live F/A-18 aircraft will fly alongside virtual aircraft flown by pilots in simulators and constructive aircraft generated by computers. The Navy is using a human-centered, gradual, iterative, and research-based strategy to transition to LVC training. Part of this strategy entails a multi-year effort to preemptively identify and mitigate potential safety concerns associated with LVC training. Two cycles of event-driven interviews with 31 Navy aircrew and training professionals, followed by extensive review by two naval air combat subject-matter experts and other stakeholders, produced a list of LVC-related safety concerns. Researchers assessed the safety risk level of each concern to prioritize mitigation efforts. The latest cycle of data collection and subject-matter expert review, reported herein, focused on developing mitigations for the safety concerns and identifying characteristics of the current naval air combat training system that protect against LVC-induced perturbations.