DARWARS Training Superiority Program

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DARWARSTraining Superiority Program

• SISO SIW Training Forum
• September 21, 2004
• Brian Spaulding
• MÄK Technologies

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DARWARS Program

• DARPA Defense Science Office
• Program Manager Dr. Ralph Chatham
• Focused on Training Superiority
• Defense Science Board Studies
• Training for Future Conflicts
• Training Superiority and Training Surprise
• 3 year program began May 2003
• Architecture BBN, MÄK, Quicksilver
• Trainers Numerous companies funded

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DARWARS Vision

• Challenges
• How to increase readiness when you cant practice
  enough
• How to improve training for joint operations
• DARWARS Solution
• Create online Joint training community
• Individuals teams
• Training anytime, anywhere
• DARWARS Environment
• Online environment combined with set of tools
  services that will make it easier less costly
  for developers and instructors to create
  deliver training experiences

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DARWARS Goals

• Increased training access
• Continuously available, on demand, experiential
  learning
• Deployable, not resource intensive (lite)
• Persistent
• Increased training effectiveness
• 2? increase in training performance
• Relevant practice (objectives)
• Feedback (reach-back, tutoring, AAR)
• Making training compelling - engage learners
• Focus on experiences

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DARWARS GoalsContinued

• Reduced training development costs
• Tools components to decrease development costs
  for new training
• Provide social context for learning

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Business Strategy

• Not just technical architecture
• DARPA does not have to fund complete system
• Must create self-sustaining marketplace and
  incentivize developers and users to participate
• Unique approach
• Implies open, competitive design vs. closed,
  stove-pipe solution
• Enables end-user to pick best solution

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Training Spectrum
Massive Joint Exercises
DARWARS Environment
Teams of Teams
Teams
Individuals
Focused Skill Learning
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DARWARS Architecture - Functional View
Interface Clients
Lobby
Launcher
Locator
Collaboration Environments
Registration
OtherApplications
DARWARS Backend
Tracking Service
Catalog Management Service
Package Authoring
Content Authoring
Member Profile Service
Administration Service
Scenario Authoring
Management Tools
Package Content
TS Profiles
Session Logs
Member Team Profiles
Visualization Tools
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User Management Services

• Identity
• Name, address, phone, email, other contact
  information
• Member Roles
• What actions member allowed to perform
• Not everyone can assign training objectives
• Profile and Portfolio
• (Self) descriptions of user
• Accomplishments user wishes to reveal
• Presence
• Where member is right now (managed by IM) so user
  can be contacted
• Users status (online, busy, available for
  training, ...)

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Learning Management Services

• Student Objectives
• What training student has been assigned or chosen
• Specified in terms of defined ontological
  framework
• Includes option to specify explicit training
  experiences
• Tracking (Student Achievements)
• What training (competencies) student has achieved
• Training Package Management
• Catalog of available training experiences
• In terms of training objectives (competencies)
  addressed prerequisites (what competencies are
  required)

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Training Package
Describes a learning experience and all
information needed to instantiate and launch
itself
Package Editor
Roles Human NPCs Resources
Servers, Clients, Scenario Data Tutor
Data Behaviors, Events, Meta-Data
Mission, Location, Duration,
TS1
TS2
Lobby
TS3
Package Launcher
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Pedagogical Framework
Framework serves as bridge between individuals or
teams and training designed to promote specific
competencies
Objectives (MEC, METL, )
Pedagogical Map
Knowledge Skills
Situations Events
Measures
Training Packages
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Uses for Ontology (Framework)
Allow learners to find training packages they
want/need (or allow instructors to find training
packages for learners)
MATCHING Advertising
MATCHING Prerequisites (what is needed)
Put learner into appropriate training package
based on his/her capabilities (or recommend a
next package) (or tailor a package) (and/or find
multiple players if needed)
RECORD Progress
Keep a record of what was learned so that learner
can see his/her progress
RECORD Prerequisites (what has been learned)
Gauge whether learner is ready to engage in other
training packages, or recommend next package
RECORD Readiness
Use for overall evaluation of what is known by
a individual or unit and where expertise is
located
RECORD Evaluation
Assess training effectiveness
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Community Services

• Instant Messaging
• IM helps build DARWARS communities
• IM provides mechanism to assemble roster of
  participants for ad hoc training or practice
• Event Calendar
• Facilitates coordination of larger, more formal
  training events
• Events may closed or open
• Training Session Coordination (Lobby)
• Place for training session participants to gather
  while waiting for other participants to show up
  or volunteer to join (ad hoc training)

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Security

• Authentication
• User identification with certificates
• Single login
• Authorization
• Role-based access control
• Fine-grained access control lists
• Communication
• SSL (or TLS)
• Both server and client certificates

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Training System-specific Services

• Content Distribution Management
• Configuration management
• Push content software updates
• Training Package
• Options parameters
• Scenarios roles
• Resources
• Training objectives addressed competency
  prerequisites
• Session Log
• Records training session (multiple sources)
• AAR Repository
• AAR documentation artifacts
• Browser, Presenter

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Training System Components
Monitor affect world (and its characters)
Reality
Instruction
Terrain Entities Environment Behavior
Models Avatars
Tutors/Coaching Assessment Feedback
User Interface
Monitor user Present feedback
Control view world (and its characters)
Graphical and Speech I/O Social Interaction User
State
A Training System embodies domain-specific
instructional expertise, the ability to present a
appropriately realistic environment for
performing the tasks required, and the ability to
interact with the environment and with your
teammates.
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HLA Federations in DARWARS

• Take advantage to available military content
• Facilitate large Joint training exercises
• Rather than proprietary video games
• Optimize HLA for Internet
• Low-bandwidth environment
• Parallel technologies used in online games
• HLA adapters/gateways
• Unreal Engine

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After Action Review

• Layered indexed event log
• Simulations Communications (needed for replay)
• Training systems (assessments, instructionally
  relevant situations)
• Instructors (annotations)
• Users (annotations)
• Browsing searching composing an AAR
• AAR has both inputs and outputs
• Authoring support
• Deliver locally remotely
• Focus on individuals teams
• AAR persists, so can continue to add value over
  time
• AAR can be generated, delivered reviewed after
  the fact

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Questions?

• For more information
• http//www.darpa.mil/dso/thrust/math/training_supe
  r.htm
• http//www.darwars.net
• DARWARS booth at I/ITSEC