Interactive displays in tactical command and control

Abstract

The tactical command and control systems environment has evolved to the state such that for any non-trivial scenario that can be postulated by mission analysts, the tactical commander will most likely become saturated by the sheer magnitude of the data and the options which can be made available to him. This situation prevails equally for all platforms—air, subsurface, surface and shore. Providing the tactical commander with the information he needs in a form which enhances his comprehension and facilitates his ability to make decisions in a timely and effective manner is the most important problem facing the command and control system architect and designer. It is universally agreed that the man-machine interaction in command and control is the critical parameter to be optimized. The ability of the command and control operator to interact directly with the tactical data base represents the single most important design requirement to achieve this optimization. With such a capability, an operator aided by an interactive display can access all elements of the tactical data base, can query the system to provide and display up-dated information on any aspect of the tactical environment, can evaluate a priori the probabilistic outcomes of choices of actions which are available and can modify easily the form of the information presented to concentrate on those parameters of greatest interest or concern. This is consistent with forecasts of command and control needs over the next decade which unanimously point to increased reliance on interactive processing and display to facilitate on-line, real-time data management and display, decision-making, data entry and reduction, simulation, resource allocation and deployment and overall force coordination and management. Trends in display technology and in the technologies supporting man-machine interactions point to increasing capabilities for interactive tactical display systems. Improved display devices, better engineered keyboards, light pens, track balls, etc., voice entry techniques, “smart” terminals with processing performed at the display and better hard-copy output represent major technological thrusts which support the projected needs of the tactical command and control system user. These developments range from hand-held interactive display terminals which could be used in the field by individual elements of the Army or Marine Corps to group viewing displays for application on shore or on platforms such as aircraft carriers. This paper describes some of these new directions in display technology with a view toward their expected impact upon the design and operational capability of tactical command and control systems.