COUNTER: Contermeasures for Opposing Undersea Naval Threats and Emergency Response

Current combat control systems require human manipulation that may unnecessarily draw the attention of the Commanding Officer (CO) and his team from more pressing matters such as damage control and re-engaging the enemy. There is no automatic method of selecting countermeasures and the CO must rely on crew actions, mental calculations, and approximations without the benefit of automated systems or processes. Addressing these concerns, the Aptima Team proposes to develop COUNTER (Countermeasures for Opposing Undersea Naval Threats and Emergency Response). COUNTER enables efficient and intuitive interaction with the command team to facilitate informed and timely decision making. Rigorous information flow modeling is used to provide a detailed mapping of the tasks and constraints that the CO uses to mentally integrate, identify, and execute countermeasures. The information flow models are integrated with dynamic decision aid algorithms to assist the CO in determining the best course of action during high-stress and time-critical hostile events. COUNTER also uses the information flow model to integrate the results of the decision aid algorithm, using an efficient interface that ensures that the CO receives the right information at the right time.