Technologies for Augmented Collaboration
Abstract
Teams have always been important in military operations, but the nature of military teamwork is changing to accommodate an increasing number of missions in stability, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR). These missions often require that diverse, distributed experts from multinational forces, non-governmental organizations, and other government agencies work together. Although team member diversity should improve mission performance by increasing access to a broader pool of knowledge, it is more likely to increase conflict and decrease trust, which may result in less information exchange, a lack of shared situation awareness, little team commitment, and ultimately poor team performance. Collaborative technologies generally focus on establishing physical interoperability among distributed team members, to the exclusion of technologies that promote cognitive interoperability. The Army Research Laboratory is investing in technologies to augment collaboration. The first tool is diagnostic, designed to assess cultural preferences and provide instruction on effective interaction strategies. The second tool uses Latent Semantic Analysis, a natural language and machine learning technology to monitor, moderate, evaluate, and provide feedback on team processes based on team communication. An initial capability of these tools was demonstrated in a Sudanese simulation; a revised system will be used in U.S. and Singaporean experiments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA463186
Entities
People
- Janet Sutton
- Linda Pierce
- Noelle LaVoie
- Peter Foltz
- Shelly Scott-nash
- Ursula Lauper
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory