Development of a task-oriented pilot-vehicle interface

A description is given of the intelligent air attack system (IAAS), an experimental avionics system designed to enhance a combat pilot's situational awareness and assist him in managing and executing his tasks in a specific Navy mission, war-at-sea ship attack. Particular attention is given to the IAAS task support subsystem (TSS), a task-oriented pilot/vehicle interface that helps the pilot complete his tasks through a collection of system agents and a hierarchy of task agents. Each system agent is an active software object that serves as a representative of some important system outside the TSS and provides an information control interface between that system and TSS components. Each task agent is an active software object whose function is to configure cockpit displays and select subsystem modes for a specific task and to monitor and assist the pilot in the execution of the task. The first complete IAAS prototype has been tested at the Naval Weapons Center by an independent evaluation team.<>