The Commander's Edge Intelligent Agent Software Applied to Battlefield Problems

Information being made available to those on the battlefield is increasing at a rapid rate. The emerging networks that the Services are readying for the battlefield offer improvement to commanders' ability to obtain information they need, when they need it, and in usable form. However, with this increase, battlefield commanders will also need tools with which to employ the information to make winning decisions in high tempo battles. Intelligent agents appear to be one tool for obtaining and displaying information in a timely fashion. The objective of this effort was to examine the extent to which the military is developing information technology, specifically intelligent agents, to assist commanders in obtaining decision superiority on the next-generation battlefield. The task attempted to answer the following questions: (1) Can intelligent agents aid in extracting data, processing data into knowledge useful to commanders, and presenting knowledge in a form commanders can quickly use? Can they do it in a timely fashion? (2) Can such intelligent agents be available in time to support the next-generation battlefield? (3) Can use of intelligent agents lead to decision superiority on the next-generation battlefield? IDA contacted the Joint and Service organizations and DoD agencies involved in the advanced concept definition and development of battlefield command and control (C2) systems. From these, we determined the main DoD and Service organizations working on information technology, specifically intelligent agents, including contractors and universities. The team obtained briefings by these organizations, reviewed documentation provided, and met with principals of ongoing agent-based efforts. It is clear that the military expects intelligent agents to provide a significant advantage for wanfighters. However, although work is ongoing, the team found no applications ready for near-term fielding.