Award

Machina Cognita Technologies (MCT) proposes the Autonomous Vehicle Audio Translation for Airfield Readiness (AVATAR) system for facilitating communications between airfield control authorities and Foreign Object Debris (FOD) removal vehicles. The system will provide a full conversational loop consisting of human-to-machine statement translation and a corresponding machine-to-human message- generation system. AVATAR will monitor continuous airfield radio signals and identify discrete speech segments despite challenges typical of airfield communications, including overlapping speakers, a variety of accents, and background noise. We will parse, classify, and filter the statements, relaying only those containing Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions and questions for the relevant FOD-removal vehicles. When responding to ATC or negotiating permission for airfield navigation, the FOD-removal vehicle will have the ability to speak through AVATAR’s statement-generation module. Machine-generated messages will follow all airfield rules and regulations. Statements will be optimized for succinctness and directness to ensure a safe operating environment. The streamlined system will allow ATC to communicate with FOD-removal vehicles without unnecessary delay. In contrast to popular dialogue systems, AVATAR will maintain informational accuracy across conversations. The system will create a repository of situational information, including representations of ongoing movements of other airfield entities, histories of previous ATC statements, and details from daily operations plans. Relevant context from the repository will bolster the human-machine communication loop so that every ATC statement is understood accurately and every FOD-generated message is unambiguous. The system will incorporate geographic coordinates to provide spatial context for each translated statement and assist the FOD robot in averting potential collisions and airfield hazards. Each component of AVATAR will support an open interface with system users to promote compatibility. The system will provide processed data in any format necessary to ensure efficient communication. AVATAR-enabled FOD removal will increase airfield readiness and provide a much safer environment for naval aviation operations.