An Intelligent Tutoring System for the Aerospace Operations Center (AOC):
Phase I Prototype
The ultimate goal is to improve the cognitive skills of AOC personnel by
complementing their initial classroom instruction with distance-based practice,
evaluation, and feedback in simulated AOC operational exercises. The Phase I effort
resulted in a proof of concept prototype and system design for an Intelligent Tutoring
System architecture for AOC operations, initially targeted for the Master Air Attack Plan
(MAAP) process domain. The ITS design allows instructors to create operational
exercises and to customize methods to automatically evaluate student decisions. With
automated monitoring of student decisions, actions and outputs, the ITS will
automatically assemble debriefings which provide feedback identifying the concepts
where the student has demonstrated either a satisfactory proficiency or a need for
remediation. The ITS will automatically formulate a remedial course of instruction which
includes additional operational exercises to test the student's updated knowledge and
provide additional practice in their weakest areas. The ITS design is specifically based on
the Phase I cognitive models, instructional strategies, and system architecture, which
provide the model for an operational web-based AOC trainer in the MAAP process
domain, consistent with ADL standards. The system design also represents a technical
basis for future implementation in related domains within the AOC, within the Air Force,
and in other subject areas.
The Phase I demonstration prototype is available on the world wide web at the
following address: http://www.stottlerhenke.com/webdev/aoc/. Instructions are provided
for system requirements and for stepping through the following demo sequence.
1. Briefings. Before beginning to work in the MAAP workspace, students should
review the briefings associated with this exercise. Under the Briefings tab there
are four sub-tabs for different kinds of information, including some scenariospecific images.
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Figure 1 – Scenario Briefing Window
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Figure 2 – Target Briefing Window
2. MAAP Workspace. The components in the MAAP Workspace are a geographic
map in the upper left (with zoom tools just below the map), a target list on the
upper right, a forms area in the middle where the student can construct a
rudimentary composite force package, and a Mission table listing the outputs that
the student has generated. All tables support dynamic column resizing. Also, the
workspace layout can be modified by sliding the borders between regions.
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Figure 3 – MAAP Workspace, with Target Selected
3. Targets. As described in the target briefing, this demonstration involves an
exercise with one target. Targets are shown as red triangles on the map. The green
circle near the target is an enemy SA-2 site. The blue circles are refueling areas.
Zoom in or out on the map or scroll to look around, using the available tools. Note
that selecting a target or SAM site highlights the corresponding row in the target
list, and vice versa.
4. Create a strike mission.
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Select the primary target (Bishop Airfield), either on the map or on the
target list.
Now select the Strike radio button. This initializes the form for creating a
strike mission, with some entries automatically filled out.
GAT has provided a choice of two suggested SCLs for this target. Select
JDAM.
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For this SCL, there is a choice of available aircraft platforms in the
Aircraft Type table, along with a number indicating the quantity that each
aircraft can carry. Select B-52.
For this aircraft, there is a choice of bases of origin from which the student
must choose, along with a number indicating the quantity of aircraft
available at each base. Select Michael AAF.
Set a Time On Target (TOT) of 1030.
Change the number of aircraft (# A/C) to 2.
Click on Save To Mission. This enters the strike mission into the table at
the bottom. Note that Michael AAF now has 0 B-52s available. In the
Mission table, you may want to resize the columns to best view data.
Figure 4 – Strike Mission Created In MAAP Workspace
5. Create an escort mission.
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Select the Support radio button (instead of Strike). This initializes the form
for 3 kinds of support missions: SEAD, Escort, and Air Refueling.
Select the Escort tab.
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Select the strike mission just created with the B-52 aircraft in the Mission
table. This copies the Mission # into the Escort mission form.
Enter a push time of 0810.
Change the number of aircraft (# A/C) to 3. This will allocate 3 aircraft for
the task of escorting the bombers.
Select the F-15C from the Escort Aircraft table. Note that the Resource
Availability table reflects the choices for this selection.
Select Michael AAF.
Click on Save To Mission. This enters the escort mission into the table at
the bottom. Note that Michael AAF now has 3 fewer F-15Cs available.
Figure 5 – Escort Mission Created in MAAP Workspace
6. Create a SEAD mission. In the initial target briefing, Intelligence reported an
SA-2 site in the vicinity of the target. This is a critical piece of information to be
considered in the MAAP process for this target, and the SAM site must be
destroyed.
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Under the Support task area, click on the SEAD tab for Suppression of
Enemy Air Defense. This initializes the workspace for creating SEAD
missions.
Select the SAM site, either by clicking on the green circle in the map, or
by selecting the Bishop SAM Site N target in the target list.
Select a desired effect of Destroy.
Select the F-16CJ aircraft, which is equipped with jamming and air-tosurface tactical missiles.
There is only one base with this resource, so select Salt Lake.
Specify a TOT of 1025, and # A/C of 2.
Click on Save To Mission. This enters the SEAD mission into the table at
the bottom.
Figure 6 – SEAD Mission Created In MAAP Workspace
7. Create an air refueling mission. Long-range and short-range aircraft have
different refueling requirements, but all will require at least one refueling in this
exercise. This is another critical coordination task for the MAAP planner.
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Under the Support task area, click on the Refuel tab, initializing the
workspace for adding air refueling.
Select the existing B-52 strike mission from the mission table.
Select Tank2 in the Refuel table, since it has an applicable time window
from 0900 to 1500.
Set the refuel time to be 1110, for the return from the target.
Click on Save Refueling, which enters the refueling mission into the table
at the bottom. This procedure can be repeated for other missions, but we
can return to it later.
Figure 7 – Air Refueling Mission Created in MAAP Workspace
8. Specify information coordination plans. With the many teams and divisions
within the AOC, it is important for the MAAP planner to always be conscious of
information flow issues that are relevant to package planning. This can include
collection management, communication with liaisons, and coordination with
various elements directly participating in the package execution as the ATO
develops.
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Click on the Information Flow And Coordination radio button. This brings
up a checklist area for specifying areas of coordination.
The package so far includes SEAD and refueling, so select the checkboxes
for coordinating with the SEAD Planner and the Air Refueling Planner.
Figure 8 – Information Coordination Planning
9. ITS Evaluation and feedback. After developing a strike package, the student can
receive feedback on a number of planning concepts related to the MAAP process
and information flow.
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Click on the Evaluation tab at the top of the environment. In the
Evaluation screen, there is a list of principles covered in this prototype.
Each has a notation representing the last round of feedback on the student's
performance. When a principle does not apply, or has not been tested yet,
it has a ?.
Click on the Evaluate button. Although a number of steps in the MAAP
process have been completed, many of the principles have not been passed
yet. Unfinished concepts are annotated with a red X; correctly met
concepts are annotated with a green checkmark. Additional feedback is
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available for most unfinished concepts, by simply clicking on the
corresponding row.
Click on the row for principle #1. In the process so far, we have not yet
updated the intelligence on the target. This is a critical step that instructors
say students often forget in developing a strike package. In fact, there is an
additional SAM site that becomes apparent when the student updates Intel
in the MAAP Workspace.
Figure 9 – Initial Evaluation Feedback
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Go to the MAAP Workspace, and click on the Update Intelligence button.
Note the additional SAM site that appears on the map and the target list.
Additional information has also been added under the Intel Update
Briefing tab in the Briefings area.
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Figure 10 – MAAP Workspace with Updated Intelligence
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Return to the Evaluation tab, click on Refresh, and then Evaluate again.
Now principle #1 is marked as completed. However, principles #2 and #3
are not. Even though we have allocated sorties for the initial SAM site, we
need to allocate additional sorties for the second SAM site accordingly.
We have also not yet constructed refueling missions for the aircraft other
than the B-52s. This is indicated by the feedback for principle #5. Similar
feedback is provided for other missed principles.
Click on principle #11. Although we specified some coordination plans,
these were not sufficient. The feedback for this principle suggests the other
areas that should be incorporated into the information flow and
coordination plan for this strike.
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Figure 11 – Evaluation Feedback After Updated Intelligence
10. Experiment. After this initial run-through, it is instructive to go back and modify
plan elements to iteratively gain experience with the process and the coordination
issues involved. Note that within the mission table you can edit the table cells for
times and #A/C. You can also delete rows within the table. If you'd like to start
over, it may be simplest to close the screen and start another session from the
introduction browser window.
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