Susan Harkness Regli

Tactical Access to Complex Technology through Interactive Communication (TACTIC)

Tactical Access to Complex Technology through Interactive Communication (TACTIC) is a user interface prototype developed under a technology effort designed to provide personnel deployed in the field with access to resources that typically require intercession by stationary experts with extensive training and experience. We present rationale behind a computer system that judiciously and beneficially exposes expert knowledge to novices, outline the domains in which such a system is applicable and describe a prototype interface implementation in the domain of military expeditionary forces.

Workload-Based Assessment of a User Interface Design

Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (LM ATL) has designed and developed a tool called Sensor-based Mental Assessment in Real Time (SMART), which uses physiological data to help evaluate human-computer interfaces (HCI). SMART non-intrusively collects and displays objective measures of cognitive workload, visual engagement, distraction and drowsiness while participants interact with HCIs or HCI prototypes. This paper describes a concept validation experiment (CVE) conducted to 1) demonstrate the feasibility of using SMART during user interface evaluations and 2) validate the EEG-based cognitive workload values derived from the SMART system by comparing them to three other measures of cognitive workload (NASA TLX, expert ratings, and expected workload values generated with Design Interactives Multimodal Information Decision Support tool). Results from the CVE indicate that SMART represents a valuable tool that provides human factors engineers with a non-invasive, non-interrupting, objective method of evaluating cognitive workload.

The Information Exoskeleton: Augmenting Human Interaction with Information Systems

In the military intelligence cycle the warfighter acts as both a receiver and a producer of information. As a receiver the warfighter must be able to readily assimilate disparate mission-relevant information. As a producer the warfighter must be cognizant of both the current information requirements and the ability to meet them. Both of these tasks are exacerbated by the heat of battle and, in the case of the receiver, the ever-increasing amount of available information. To address these challenges Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (LM ATL) is creating a suite of capabilities to augment warfighter interaction with intelligence services. Much like a powered exoskeleton augments human interaction with the physical environment, our Information Exoskeleton augments the warfighter’s interaction with intelligence, providing greater situational awareness with minimal operational overhead. This paper describes our vision for the Information Exoskeleton, the capabilities required to realize it, and related research efforts.