Progress and Prospects for Collaborative Tactical Behaviors for Autonomous Ground and Air Vehicles

Tactical behaviors by individuals require situational awareness, including knowledge of the environment, self-knowledge, knowledge of the rules of engagement, knowledge of the disposition, intent, and capabilities of the enemy, and knowledge of appropriate tactics, techniques, and procedures. Collaborative tactical behaviors require additional knowledge of the state, capabilities, and intent of commanders, peers, and subordinates. Recent results of research with the 4D/RCS reference model architecture suggest how all of these kinds of knowledge can be represented in a real-time dynamic world model, how this knowledge can be updated in real-time from processed sensor data or from battlefield information systems. This paper describes an architecture and design methodology that support the sharing of procedural and declarative knowledge by teams of autonomous ground and air vehicles to generate collaborative tactical behaviors that accomplish complex mission assignments.