NASA SISM Intelligent Systems Project Human-Centered Computing Decision Systems

Approach

The HCC Decision Systems (DS) technical area focuses on how humans use and interact with information. DS capabilities include software tools for intelligently acquiring, representing, managing, sharing, and interacting with scarce or valuable knowledge. This will help NASA disseminate knowledge to the science community, compile materials for education and outreach, and capture lessons for use in later missions. Knowledge modeling and sharing technologies can support mobile computing; collaborative access to remote scientific instruments; just-in-time training systems; and collaboration tools for scientists and engineers. Prototypes of these tools are already in use by field scientists. The goal is for the computer to be an active assistant in enterprise-wide learning and the timely use of expertise. This will require adaptive knowledge representations tailored to specific user groups, plus techniques for abstracting and communicating knowledge. Important applications include the support of mission design teams, developers, and operations personnel. Innovative approaches to acquiring, preserving, and sharing expertise can aid design work and ensure that past experience informs current practice. DS technologies are typically targeted for specific missions and developed in realistic NASA mission environments. For instance, DS research addresses the needs of International Space Station (ISS) ground and onboard operations for information management, biomedical monitoring, power management, and life support; launch and range operations; and distributed and remote science operations. System-level tests are conducted in joint activities with NASA Centers responsible for mission design and operations. Research and development challenges are calibrated against the ground truth of real mission operations, and early R&D products are made available for implementation as quickly as possible. In the course of prototyping innovative decision systems, it is possible to discover new requirements and to validate, refine, and prioritize known requirements. Mission planners also become aware of new capabilities from IS and HCC research. Decision Systems tasks use the technologies developed in other HCC areas to enhance innovative prototype mission operations systems; integrate computational models of individual human operators and of teams to simulate critical aspects of human and system performance in mission operations; develop testbeds and virtual simulation capabilities with software agents, to evaluate new complex systems; and document and analyze human and system performance in mixed-initiative systems.

Research Tasks

Decision Systems  Research Tasks
Principal Investigator	Lead Org.	Task Title
Jorge E. Bardina	ARC	Launch and Range Operations Testbed
William J. Clancey	ARC	Design and Analysis of Tactical Plannning in Science Operations
William J. Clancey	ARC	Mobile Agents Project
William J. Clancey	ARC	Work Practice Simulation Environment for Habitat Design and Scheduling
David M. Kortenkamp	JSC	Advanced Life Support System Control by Machine Learning
David M. Kortenkamp	JSC	EVA Robotic Assistant
Jane T. Malin	JSC	Intelligent Mission Operations
Roger W. Remington	ARC	Launch and Range Operations Decision Models
Debra K. Schreckenghost	JSC	Distributed Crew Interaction with Advanced Life Support Control Systems
John A. Schreiner	ARC	Collaborative Information Portal
Jay P. Trimble	ARC	Mars Exploration Human-Centered Computing Projects
Alonso H. Vera	CMU	Mission Control Technology Infusion
Lui Wang	JSC	Agent-Assisted Distributed Team Operations
Jiajie Zhang	UTH	Human-Centered Intelligent Flight Surgeon Console

NASA | SISM | IS | Human-Centered Computing

IS Tasks | HCC Tasks