Improving Platoon Leader Situation Awareness with Unmanned Sensor Technology
Abstract
We investigated the contributions that unmanned sensor imagery provides to platoon leaders operating in a force-on-force experiment. We followed the platoon leader, platoon sergeant, and Robotics Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) as they conducted reconnaissance missions against a live, unscripted opposing force (OPFOR) in the Ft. Dix, New Jersey environment. Our situation awareness (SA) survey methodology was consistent with the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) (Endsley, 2000). We randomly asked leaders to answer questions about the OPFOR and to draw their locations on a map. We later compared these answers and drawings with computer-generated maps that showed geo-referenced positions of the OPFOR. Our findings indicate that leader SA was higher, in general, when using unmanned sensor technology than when relying upon human intelligence alone. However, the ability of leaders to consistently demonstrate high levels of SA across trials was disappointing. We believe this is due, in part, to the uneven performance of the sensor imagery, the periodic failure of the communication system due to dense foliage of the site, and the inability of the leaders to develop effective tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for the persistent monitoring of the sensor images and coordination with unmanned sensor operators.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA463118
Entities
People
- Elizabeth K. Bowman
- Steven Kirin
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory