Air Force Research Laboratory. (Current Logistics Research).

The Air Force Research Laboratory, Deployment and Sustainment Division (AFRL/HES) conducts research and development to improve Air Force agile combat support capabilities and protect Air Force personnel in potentially toxic environments at deployed locations. Applications cover a broad spectrum of field, depot, and C2 operations with customers throughout the Air Force, Department of Defense, other government agencies, academic institutions, and industry. The following are ongoing research projects current as of January 2002. To obtain more information about these projects, contact the program managers listed below each project description.

Logistics Control and Information Support

Objective. To provide logistics personnel at all echelons within the wing easy-to-use, real-time, and highly accurate logistics and operations information needed for decision making.

Approach. The Logistics Control and Information Support (LOCIS) program is researching and developing technologies for an enhanced command and control capability for wing-level logistics personnel. LOCIS will provide easy access to logistics information to support proactive problem identification and resolution. LOCIS technologies will automatically collect and synthesize information required for key logistics decisions. In synthesizing the information, LOCIS is researching new ways to present information at a glance by using colors, aircraft profiles, and location of information on the screen. The most important pieces of information will be retrieved from existing maintenance, supply, munitions, and fuels information systems. Using advanced information technologies, LOCIS will automatically supplement this information with data from legacy information systems to provide immediate, useful information to logistics decision makers. In addition, LOCIS will use automated data-collection technologies to suppleme nt existing data with real-time data. LOCIS will also provide logistics decision makers with a look-ahead simulation capability to identify problems in the planning and replanning process. As LOCIS technologies are developed and enhanced, they are being inserted into a living laboratory environment at the Air Force Special Operations Command for hands-on evaluation and testing.

Expected Payoff. LOCIS will provide logistics personnel the information and tools needed to better perform their duties. Through the use of real time, accurate information, and the application of advanced decision aids and presentation techniques, logistics personnel will be more effective in the day-to-day use of their assets and in short-notice deployment operations. (Chris Curtis, AFRL/HESR, DSN 785-6718, Comm 937-255-6718, [e-mail]).

Predictive Failures and Advanced Diagnostics

Objective. To reduce aircraft down time by enhancing the capability of maintainers to identify the causes of system failures through better diagnostics and, where possible, identify imminent system failures (failure prognostics) so repairs can be made more quickly.

Approach. Research the various areas that make up the diagnostics and prognostics process and focus on the improvements that offer the best return on investment. Initial efforts will involve an analysis of the diagnostics process, identification of those variables presently used to diagnose faults, identification of other variables for which data may be available (such as built-in test sensor data), and identification of historical information (such as failure rates and component failure histories for specific aircraft and components and for fleet aircraft and components). These data sources will then be used to develop advanced diagnostic algorithms. The algorithms will employ state-of-the art pattern recognition techniques; data-mining applications; intelligent agents; and self-adapting, artificial intelligence techniques. Based on work in the diagnostics area, aircraft prognostic techniques, to include an evaluation of generic component degradation measurements, will be investigated. A complete predictive failures and advanced diagnostics (PFAD) system will be defined in a concept of operations and system architecture report, and a subset of the PFAD tool suite will be developed and tested.

Expected Payoff. The new diagnostics capability will significantly increase the accuracy with which technicians are able to diagnose the causes of system failures, thereby restoring aircraft to operational status sooner and reducing the consumption of spare parts. Prognostics capability will make it possible to replace about-to-fail parts before they fail, reducing system failures, in-flight aborts, and aircraft accidents. (Capt Ken Eizenga, AFRL/HESR, DSN 785-3771, Comm 937-255-3771, [e-mail])

MDD and ACCD for Aircraft Maintenance

Objective. Assess promising new monocular display and alternative computer-input technologies for the presentation and retrieval of maintenance technical information for flight-line and depot maintenance.

Approach. A series of experimental studies is being conducted to evaluate the devices for supporting various maintenance tasks. Initial efforts focused on evaluating monocular display devices (MDD) and alternative computer control devices (ACCD) in a variety of environments. Current efforts are focused on testing a variety of newly developed MDD and ACCD technologies. MDD devices include occluding and see-through displays. ACCDs include state-of-the-art, speech-based controls and electromyographic (EMO) controls. EMG devices use electrical signals accompanying muscle contractions to input user commands. Seven studies and numerous usability evaluations have demonstrated significant improvements in performance of technicians using MDDs under a variety of conditions and for a variety of tasks. Initial ACCD studies using speech recognition technology have shown significant benefits but also have identified problems due to noise. Studies are planned for using advanced speech recognition and special microphones pl aced in the ear. This work is being conducted as a joint effort with the AFRL Crew Systems Interface Division. In addition to MDDs and ACCDs, the Air Force Directorate of Maintenance is sponsoring studies to evaluate the use of other mobile computing devices on the flight line,

Expected Payoff. The payoffs to the Air Force will include improved maintenance performance, reduced maintenance down time, and reduced maintenance costs. (Barbara Masquelier, AFRL/HESR, DSN 986-7005, Comm 937-656-7005, barbara.masquelier@ wpafb.af.mil)

Service Manual Generation

Objective. Reduce the cost while increasing the quality of maintenance manuals by integrating and automating the creation of maintenance technical information contained in technical orders.

Approach. Through a dual-use, research and development effort, the Air Force is teaming with industry to develop innovative approaches to automating the manually intensive, service manual development-and-validation process. Advanced software algorithms will be developed to automatically determine disassembly sequences from computer-aided-design system models. Natural language algorithms will be developed to convert the sequential information into written instructions describing each step in the maintenance procedure. Virtual validation techniques will allow technical procedures to be rehearsed and checked for accuracy on a personal computer much earlier in the development cycle. The technical data will be generated directly from design models, ensuring concurrency with system configurations.

Expected Payoff. A more integrated process for developing technical manuals, providing higher quality information earlier in the development process. The result will be faster, cheaper, more accurate, and more complete service manuals for both Department of Defense and commercial products. A major benefit of Service Manual Generation will be increased sortie generation. Repairs will be made faster and with fewer maintenance errors due to more timely and accurate maintenance manuals. Another benefit will be a reduced overall development cycle time for manuals, leading to near elimination of the maintenance documentation lag so common in current systems. Due to the number of manual tasks being automated, the cost of developing maintenance manuals will be significantly reduced. Finally, the technology produces a robust training medium as a by-product of the new design process. (Jeff Wampler, AFRL/HESS, DSN 785 7773, Comm 937-255-7773, [e-mail])

Global Air Mobility Advanced Technologies

Objective. Reduce decision-cycle time and error rates of Air Mobility Command's (AMC) command and control operations through development of human computer-interface technologies: intelligent agent-supported work-centered support systems (WCSS).

Approach. Traditional human computer interfaces have a system and process-level focus and, therefore, only provide support for a relatively narrow range of situations. They are typically organized around access to system data and support for low-level work processes, not direct support for the actual decisions the user must make. This arrangement requires the user to initiate most activities (such as seeking relevant information-often from multiple sources and systems) and to manually fuse the information into a form meaningful at the job function level and relevant to the decision. In contrast, a WCSS focuses on supporting decision making through job-level analyses and designs supporting the structure of the work and wide range of anticipated and unanticipated decisions the user may be asked to make. It uses cognitive task analysis and other methods based on cognitive psychology to create designs consistent with human capabilities and limitations in the context of performing work. The WCSS provides a single interface for the entire range of decisions a user or job position may be asked to make. The interface functionality includes decision support, work organization and management, collaboration, and product support. The information is presented to the user in a decision quality format such that the user is freed from the preprocessing necessary to reach that state. The work-structure-based design provides an interface supportive of both anticipated and unanticipated decisions. Supporting the WCSS is another cognitive psychology-based technology; namely, intelligent software agents, a form of artificial intelligence. The software agents are embedded within the interface to act as personal assistants, proactively tracking information and alerting the user of problems, and as portals to diverse command and control (C2) systems. By integrating intelligent interface agent and WCSS technologies into a single, unified interface, dramatic decreases in decision cycle time and error rates have been demonstrated.

Expected Payoff. The Global Air Mobility Advanced Technologies (GAMAT) program will deliver three primary products: Work-Centered Support System for Global Weather Management (WCSS-GWM), Agent Management Tool (AMT), and Work-Centered Support System for Distributed Mobile Computing (WCSS-DMC). The WCSS-GWM will enable real-time identification and resolution of weather problems affecting air mobility missions while simultaneously increasing the amount of weather and mission data that can be effectively monitored and used. The AMT will provide a new capability enabling operational users (as opposed to specialized software programmers) to create and destroy software agents, as necessary, to meet unique information requirements. The WCSS-DMC will provide a distributed collaborative, decision-support capability that will enable geographically and time-distributed elements of AMC's C2 system to identify and resolve operational problems. The GAMAT technologies directly support the AMC 2000 command-and-control modern ization program's integrated flight management concept of operations and will provide new operational capabilities not currently available to its users. Collectively, these technology products will improve the velocity, throughput, safety, and efficiency of the global airlift system by enabling more accurate and timely decision making through 24/7 global monitoring; automatic problem detection and anticipation; and distributed, collaborative problem resolution. (Sam Kuper, AFRL/HESS, DSN 785-9684, Comm 937-255-9684, [e-mail])

Mr Hoffman is Deputy Chief, Deployment and Sustainment Division, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.