FABB: a blackboard development tool and its application to command and control

Abstract

The Ford Aerospace Blackboard System (FABB) and its application to intelligent command and control are described. FABB is a blackboard development tool built upon Knowledge Craft that combines and extends many of the features found in current university blackboard shells. Extended use is made of Knowledge Craft's context mechanisms, both to isolate multiple blackboards within a single knowledge base and to allow independent knowledge sources to perform alternate world reasoning. Intelligent control of the problem-solving process is obtained by defining control blackboards, control knowledge sources, and control data objects. High-level plans and strategies are predefined before program execution and chosen opportunistically in a manner that best suits the problem situation. FABB is being used as the development tool in the initial stage of building a command and control system that analyzes and combines multiple, and often incomplete and inaccurate, information in an effort to identify enemy plans intelligently.<>