USMA Digital Commons (United States Military Academy, West Point)
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Dean\u27s Significant Activities Report 01-17-2020
Get PDFThe Dean’s Weekly Significant Activities Report lists all activities conducted within the Departments, Centers & Staff. The Report is provided to the Dean and Directorate personnel for situational awareness.https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/sigact/1025/thumbnail.jp
Combining Wargaming With Modeling and Simulation to Project Future Military Technology Requirements
No full textThe rapid growth and widespread availability of technology has allowed enemies to dynamically develop countermeasures to military systems. Therefore, it is imperative that military systems be designed to account for these countermeasures. As such, technology roadmapping should be a critical activity in the acquisition of defense systems. Technology roadmaps provide a strategic vision for a system that accounts for the operational context, including evolving needs and technology changes. However, the operational context can be difficult to predict. This article suggests using wargaming coupled with combat simulation to better understand the operational context to allow for testing and refining technology roadmaps. Wargaming requires teams to roleplay friendly and enemy units to determine how each side adapts with the implementation of a new military system. Computer-based simulations can then convert the qualitative results from the wargame into quantitative metrics that further inform the roadmap. A case study is presented for a technology roadmap associated with an armored exoskeleton. Wargaming forecasted the countermeasures implemented by the enemy and the associated responses. The wargame results were coupled with models to quantitatively forecast the change in the warfighter\u27s survivability and lethality. The wargame was then used to inform the technology roadmap
The Utility of Civil-Military Relations for Intelligence Professionals
Get PDFThis article seeks to help intelligence professionals better define an operating environment through the use of civil military relations theory
Modeling a Maintenance Free Operating Period Strategy for Future Vertical Lift
No full textThe U.S. Department of Defense has begun the acquisition of the next generation of military rotorcraft, named Future Vertical Lift (FVL), to replace its aging fleet. U.S. Army Futures Command intends to sustain FVL under a new strategy of maintenance free operating periods (MFOP). This study developed a discrete event simulation to evaluate MFOP success given component reliabilities, desired MFOP duration, and operational tempo of a battalion with thirty aircraft. The simulation compared notional FVL aircraft with improved reliability to today’s fleet. Results indicated that inherent reliability alone was insufficient to achieve MFOP goals and that prognostics and diagnostics with robust information management are necessary. Sensitivity studies found the recovery effort after an MFOP was linked to the MFOP duration. Recovery downtime was tied to both the duration and operational tempo. Availability and cost improved with moderate gains in MFOP duration by eliminating unnecessary preventive maintenance but over-extending the MFOP sacrificed aircraft dependability for marginally greater availability and savings
Development and Human Factors Evaluation of a Portable Auditory Localization Acclimation Training System
Get PDFAuditory situation awareness (ASA) is essential for safety and survivability in military operations where many of the hazards are not immediately visible. Unfortunately, the Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) required to operate in these environments can impede auditory localization performance. Promisingly, recent studies have exhibited the plasticity of the human auditory system by demonstrating that training can improve auditory localization ability while wearing HPDs, including military Tactical Communications and Protective Systems (TCAPS). As a result, the U.S. military identified the need for a portable system capable of imparting auditory localization acquisition skills at similar levels to those demonstrated in laboratory environments. The purpose of this investigation was to develop and validate a Portable Auditory Localization Acclimation Training (PALAT) system equipped with an improved training protocol against a proven laboratory grade system referred to as the DRILCOM system and subsequently evaluate the transfer-of-training benefit in a field environment.
In Phase I, a systems decision process was used to develop a prototype PALAT system consisting of an expandable frame housing 32-loudspeakers operated by a user-controlled tablet computer capable of reproducing acoustically accurate localization cues similar to the DRILCOM system. Phase II used a within-subjects human factors experiment to validate whether the PALAT system could impart similar auditory localization training benefits as the DRILCOM system. Results showed no significant difference between the two localization training systems at each stage of training or in training rates for the open ear and with two TCAPS devices. The PALAT system also demonstrated the ability to detect differences in localization accuracy between listening conditions in the same manner as the DRILCOM system. Participant ratings indicated no perceived difference in localization training benefit but significantly preferred the PALAT system user interface which was specifically designed to improve usability features to meet requirements of a user operable system. The Phase III investigation evaluated the transfer-of-training benefit imparted by the PALAT system using a broadband stimulus to a field environment using gunshot stimulus. Training under the open ear and in-the-ear TCAPS resulted in significant differences between the trained and untrained groups from in-office pretest to in-field posttest
Development and Human Factors Evaluation of a Portable Auditory Localization Acclimation Training System
Get PDFAuditory situation awareness (ASA) is essential for safety and survivability in military operations where many of the hazards are not immediately visible. Unfortunately, the Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) required to operate in these environments can impede auditory localization performance. Promisingly, recent studies have exhibited the plasticity of the human auditory system by demonstrating that training can improve auditory localization ability while wearing HPDs, including military Tactical Communications and Protective Systems (TCAPS). As a result, the U.S. military identified the need for a portable system capable of imparting auditory localization acquisition skills at similar levels to those demonstrated in laboratory environments. The purpose of this investigation was to develop and validate a Portable Auditory Localization Acclimation Training (PALAT) system equipped with an improved training protocol against a proven laboratory grade system referred to as the DRILCOM system and subsequently evaluate the transfer-of-training benefit in a field environment.
In Phase I, a systems decision process was used to develop a prototype PALAT system consisting of an expandable frame housing 32-loudspeakers operated by a user-controlled tablet computer capable of reproducing acoustically accurate localization cues similar to the DRILCOM system. Phase II used a within-subjects human factors experiment to validate whether the PALAT system could impart similar auditory localization training benefits as the DRILCOM system. Results showed no significant difference between the two localization training systems at each stage of training or in training rates for the open ear and with two TCAPS devices. The PALAT system also demonstrated the ability to detect differences in localization accuracy between listening conditions in the same manner as the DRILCOM system. Participant ratings indicated no perceived difference in localization training benefit but significantly preferred the PALAT system user interface which was specifically designed to improve usability features to meet requirements of a user operable system. The Phase III investigation evaluated the transfer-of-training benefit imparted by the PALAT system using a broadband stimulus to a field environment using gunshot stimulus. Training under the open ear and in-the-ear TCAPS resulted in significant differences between the trained and untrained groups from in-office pretest to in-field posttest
A Celebration of West Point Authors, July - December 2019
Get PDFHighlighting the 456 collected works of scholarship published and presented between July - December 2019.https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/books/1022/thumbnail.jp
Robotics Technology Kernel for Radiation Sensing and Site Exploitation
No full textThis paper details the design and operational prototype of a small unmanned ground vehicle capable of site exploitation and radiation sensing in an indoor, GPS-denied environment. By leveraging the Robotics Technology Kernel and Android Tactical Assault Kit, users and researchers can reduce non-recurring engineering costs associated with autonomous sensing and navigation algorithm development, testing, integration, and reuse. This paper presents recent test results of the system and its sensors using the proposed hardware and software infrastructure connecting back to an end user device
For ethical artificial intelligence, security is pivotal
No full textThe market for artificial intelligence is growing at an unprecedented speed, not seen since the introduction of the commercial Internet. The estimates vary, but the global AI market is assumed to grow 30 to 60 percent per year. Defense spending on AI projects is increasing at even a higher rate when we add wearable AI and systems that are dependent on AI. The defense investments, such as augmented reality, automated target recognition, and tactical robotics, would not advance at today’s rate without the presence of AI to support the realization of these concepts