Program Sponsor: PEO Ships
TPOC: Dr. Tony Ruffa, NUWC Newport
Phase II Completion Date: 4-Oct-09

Anacapa Sciences, Inc.
301 East Carrillo Street
Santa Barbara, CA, USA 93101
Phone: (805) 966-6157
www.anacapasciences.com
radick@anacapasciences.com
Dr. Robert Dick, Principal Investigator

Need
     The success of the Navy's newest series of surface warships - starting with the DDG-1000 stealth destroyer - is heavily dependent on success in manning reduction, as mandated by Congress. Various new automation technologies will support personnel reduction for many types of shipboard jobs; however, cognitively demanding jobs - such as combat system watchstanding - have proved difficult to automate. This is particularly the case in the operation of sensor systems, such as those that support anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Innovative technology is needed to reduce manning for ASW systems, while simultaneously improving total team performance, especially as the Navy increases its emphasis in the difficult arena of littoral operations.

Technology Development
     Previously - in the wake of the USS Stark and USS Vincennes incidents during the run-up to the Gulf War in the 1980's - OPNAV, Raytheon Company, and NAVSEA funded researchers at Anacapa Sciences to solve the very problem described above, but in electronic warfare (EW) sensor systems. These researchers examined unusually expert EW watchstanders who could perform much more efficiently and effectively than their counterparts. These 'super-experts' had developed cognitive strategies to integrate combat information in a way that accelerated their performance of certain critical tasks while simultaneously improving the quality of task output.
     The researchers reasoned that if all watchstanders could perform more like these super-experts, the size of a team on watch might be reduced, while maintaining the same level of performance or, perhaps, even improving it.
     Using a spiral build-test-build design process, the researchers developed 'tactical user interface' (TUI) technology that provides on-screen integration of combat information which emulates the superior cognitive strategies of the super-experts - to help all watchstanders accelerate performance of critical tasks. The TUI was implemented in a full-scale prototype, and Navy evaluators determined that the EW watch team could be reduced 50% - from one operator and a supervisor, to one senior operator - while maintaining or improving quality of task performance.
     In the present SBIR program, the same researchers have extended TUI technology for application to ASW, with initial emphasis on passive sensing. Employing a design technology from software engineering, they extracted the applicable 'design patterns' from the EW-oriented TUI solution and migrated them to ASW.

This extension of TUI technology to ASW employs 'massive integration' of combat information from multiple shipboard sensors and from the command-and-control (C2) system. With enriched situation awareness for the overall tactical context, plus tools for accelerated drill-down into specific task detail, the watchstander can more rapidly answer six questions that are crucial to combat sensing: Is there something there? What is it? Where is it? How badly can it hurt me? What is it doing now? What will it probably do next?

Technology Transition
     Now at the mid-point of Year 1 in the Phase II effort, Anacapa researchers are working closely with the Phase III transition partner - Raytheon Company - on ensuring that Phase II product development will support smooth transition to the target environment, the Integrated Undersea Warfare (IUSW) system for DDG-1000.
     To minimize the need for new interface code or dedicated display surface, the TUI will be implemented as a pop-up 'super-screen' that temporarily overlays one of the three monitors on the IUSW workstation. Watchstanders will launch the TUI whenever they need to quickly enrich situation awareness and accelerate certain tasks necessary to answer the six crucial questions above.
     Programmatically, the TUI is targeted for implementation in downstream versions of the IUSW system via the peer-review-process (PRP) and/or engineering change proposals (ECPs).
     While not currently a Phase II target, C2 is another viable DDG-1000 application of TUI technology. Just as enriched situation awareness accelerates cognitive processing in sensor watchstanders, it can achieve similar results for C2 decision makers.