Behavioral Characteristic of Synthetic Teammates in Simulation-Based Training

Abstract

Cognitive model-based synthetic teammates allow individuals to engage in guided mission rehearsal when other teammates and/or instructors may not be available. Synthetic teammates employed in a training simulation environment need to behave in a believable manner in order to interact with human teammates effectively. Synthetic teammate developers must consider which types of exhibited behavior are required to provide instruction. Classes of behavior that may be required of a synthetic include individual taskwork, teamwork, and instruction. In addition, the level of human performance emulation, i.e., the degree of competency of these behaviors, needs to be considered. This paper discusses these classes of behavior as well as the appropriateness of performance versus competence modeling. Two examples of synthetic teammate development efforts are presented that illustrate these behavioral characteristics.