Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Ustranscom: Corporate Information-Centric Environment, Collaborative Agent Design Research Center

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

As a result of foresight and planning that has established a logical data model (i.e., the Master Model), a set of standard reference tables and 17 migration software systems as the foundation of a disciplined Corporate Data Environment (CDE), USTRANSCOM now finds itself in the enviable position of being able to implement DoD’s vision of a Global Information Grid (GIG) with speed and confidence. The urgency with which DoD views the need to shift the burden of tedious data filtering and interpretation tasks from human operators to automated machine-based processes, is reflected in the CDE and provides the opportunity for …

Split Knowledge Level Modeling, Michael A. Zang, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

Traditional approaches to building intelligent information systems employ an object model to define a representational structure for the information of interest within the target domain of the system. At runtime, the model provides a constrained template for the creation of the individual object instances and relationships that together define the state of the system at a given point in time. The ontology also provides a vocabulary for expressing domain knowledge typically in the form of rules (declarative knowledge) or methods (procedural knowledge). Agents operating within the system utilize the encoded knowledge to progress the state of the system towards the …

Demonstration Of A Typical Ontology-Based Collaborative Agents System: Seaway, Anthony Wood, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

In San Luis Obispo we have seventy-seven SEAWAY systems which are being prepared for fielding, and we are deep into the design of the follow on version. So, we are discussing a decision support system which is operational. Before we explore SEAWAY, we probably ought to talk about defining decision making problems and applying decision support.

In the case where the senior decision maker has poor decision skills, even the best decision support will make only the most marginal of difference. However, good decision support can make a huge difference if you have just an adequate decision process and adequate …

Proceedings Of The 2003 Onr Decision-Support Workshop Series: Developing The New Infostructure, Collaborative Agent Design Research Center

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

In August of 1998 the Collaborative Agent Design Research Center (CADRC) of the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), approached Dr. Phillip Abraham of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) with the proposal for an annual workshop focusing on emerging concepts in decision-support systems for military applications. The proposal was considered timely by the ONR Logistics Program Office for at least two reasons. First, rapid advances in information systems technology over the past decade had produced distributed, collaborative computer-assistance capabilities with profound potential for providing meaningful support to military decision makers. Indeed, some systems based on …

Ontological Approaches For Semantic Interoperability, Michael A. Zang, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

This paper provides a basic description of the concept of an ontology. It then describes how ontologies are structured and employed in the context of interfaces between software based information systems. This usage is discussed in the context of three successive levels of semantic interoperability between two example systems. The paper goes on to suggest that the interfaces between information systems should perhaps be viewed and implemented as systems themselves. The paper concludes by providing a brief summary of what was discussed.

The Emerging Knowledge Management Paradigm: Some Organizational And Technical Issues, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

This paper addresses the expectations, organizational implications, and information processing requirements, of the emerging knowledge management paradigm. A brief discussion of the enablement of the individual through the wide-spread availability of computer and communication facilities, is followed by a description of the structural evolution of organizations, and the architecture of a computer-based knowledge management system. The author discusses two trends that are driven by the treatment of information and knowledge as a commodity: increased concern for the management and exploitation of knowledge within organizations; and, the creation of an organizational environment that facilitates the acquisition, sharing and application of knowledge. …

Pre-Conference Proceedings Of The Focus Symposium On Collaborative Decision-Support Systems, Collaborative Agent Design Research Center

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The papers included in these pre-conference proceedings reflect the increasing focus on the utilization of computers as collaborating, decision-assistance partners in complex and often time-critical problem situations. There are high expectations that intelligent software agents will solve many of our current information system woes, such as lack of interoperability, multiple failure points, vulnerability to intrusion, making the right information available to the right person at the right time, and proposing solutions under time-critical conditions. Software agents do not have magical human-like capabilities. It is not possible to simply develop a piece of software code that is capable of reasoning about …

The Knowledge Level Approach To Intelligent Information System Design, Michael A. Zang, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

Traditional approaches to building intelligent information systems employ an ontology to define a representational structure for the data and information of interest within the target domain of the system. At runtime, the ontology provides a constrained template for the creation of the individual objects and relationships that together define the state of the system at a given point in time. The ontology also provides a vocabulary for expressing domain knowledge typically in the form of rules (declarative knowledge) or methods (procedural knowledge). The system utilizes the encoded knowledge, often in conjunction user input, to progress the state of the system …

Tegrid: Demonstration Of A Semantic Web Environment, Steven Gollery, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

Over the past several years there has been an increasing recognition of the shortcomings of message-passing data-processing systems that compute data without understanding, and the vastly superior potential capabilities of information-centric systems that incorporate an internal information model with sufficient context to support a useful level of automatic reasoning.

The key difference between a data-processing and an information-centric environment is the ability to embed in the information-centric software some understanding of the information being processed. The term information-centric refers to the representation of information in the computer, not to the way it is actually stored in a digital machine. This …

Transformation: The Human Obstacles, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

This paper addresses the human aspects of change at a time when the rapid wide-spread implementation of a new infostructure has become the cornerstone of national security policies. The author explores the behavioral characteristics of human beings from a point of view that is not based on inter-human comparisons, but on an examination of the innate physical, biological, intellectual, emotional, and social characteristics of our species. It is argued that the experience-based nature of the human cognitive system greatly reduces our ability to adapt to changes in our environment, exploit opportunities, and create new knowledge. A fundamental biological survival instinct …

Icodes: A Ship Load-Planning System, Stephen Goodman, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The Integrated Computerized Deployment System (ICODES) is a logistic software application of ship load-planning tools that utilizes intelligent software agents in a human-computer collaborative mode. As an example of a new generation of ‘information-centric’ military decision-support systems, ICODES includes expert agents with automatic reasoning and analysis capabilities. This is made possible by an internal virtual representation of the load-planning environment, in terms of ship and cargo characteristics and the complex relationships that constitute the context within which load-planning operations are performed. ICODES agents monitor the principal determinants of cargo stowage, including: the placement and segregation requirements for hazardous cargo items; …

Sils Mrat: A Shipboard Integration Of Logistics Systems And Mission Readiness Analysis Tool, Michael A. Zang, Chris K. Neff, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

SILS (Shipboard Integration of Logistics Systems) is an umbrella program initiated and sponsored by Dr. Phillip Abraham in the Logistics Directorate of the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR). The SILS vision is a system of systems that brings together shipboard and shore based data and information sources in a single integrated environment. SILS MRAT (Mission Readiness Analysis Tool) is a high-level shipboard component of SILS, which applies intelligent agent technology to the near real time decision support needs of commanding officers, department heads, and key operations & maintenance personnel. This tool demonstrates the capability of a system architecture to …

Decision-Support Systems: Notions, Prototypes, And In-Use Applications With Emphasis On Military Applications, Jens G. Pohl, Arthur Chapman, Kym Jason Pohl, Jonathan Primrose, Adam Wozniak

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

This report describes work performed by the Collaborative Agent Design Research Center (CADRC) over the past several years in the design and implementation of collaborative, computer-based, decision-support systems, mostly for military applications. In these systems multiple components, either program modules or separate processes (i.e., software agents), cooperate with each other and human decision makers to solve complex problems. The components are essentially of two types: knowledge-based narrow domain experts that provide services to other agents (i.e., service-agents); and, more autonomous agents (i.e., object-agents) that represent the interests of selected objects in high level information representation schemas.

Based on the notion …