BAA-AFRL-RQKH-2015-0008-Atch6.pdf

Attachment 6

BAA-AFRL-RQKH-2015-0008

15 July 2015

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

Task Order 0001 “Trust Calibration and Human-Machine Teaming”

1.0 Background

This effort is soliciting innovative research concepts that advance the overall mission of the Human Trust and Interaction Branch (711 HPW/RHXS), Human Insight and Trust (HIT) Team which is to conduct research to develop, test, evaluate and transition methods to foster human-robot teaming and methods to calibrate trust within a human-machine context. This effort seeks to understand the human-machine trust process within: 1) pilots, 2) Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operators and analysts, 3) advanced human-robot teaming concepts, and 4) advanced human-robot teaming concepts. Advances in machine intelligence can create uncertainties regarding systems performance and behavior as systems gain greater levels of decision initiative, thus exacerbating the importance of calibrated (i.e., optimal) trust conferred from the human operator to the machine system. Advances in robotic systems have focused on their mechanistic functionality while largely neglecting the socio-emotional facets of human-robot teaming (notable exceptions include the literature on social robotics). This research seeks to identify the most important predictors of trust within a human-machine context.

2.0 Scope

The contractor will provide basic, applied, and advanced technology development research, development and demonstration for understanding the trust calibration process. The domains of interest include semi-autonomous, symbiotic, human-machine teaming (HMT) research; research to identify the psychological and physiological antecedents and consequences of suspicion within a human-machine context; research to understand the factors that shape trust calibration within a human-machine context; and research to understand the most significant components driving trust and performance within human-robotic interaction. The domains of application for this research may include but is not limited to automated tools within cockpits, analyst tools/aids for ISR analysis and exploitation, software code, and advanced robotic systems within the Air Force. The present research may include both laboratory and field research. The contractor will collaborate and perform in-house research conducted at Wright-Patterson AFB;

conduct field research at government facilities; and/or industrial settings; and/or conduct research at university settings. “In-house” refers to the collaboration, teaming, and execution of research that will be done by the contractor at the government facility. The research proposed herein aligns to two core areas:

(1) Human-Robot Teaming – This effort seeks to empirically identify methods, design features, or situational factors that promote effective team processes (i.e., trust, coordination, communication, shared situational awareness) between humans and robotic systems. These methods will be benchmarked against the ability to foster effective team processes and improved human-robot team performance.

(2) Trust Calibration – This effort seeks to empirically identify the antecedents of trust in a human-machine context. This effort will include an examination of the individual differences, situational factors, design features, and that influence under or over trust of machines, suspicion of machines or machine-generated data, and optimal trust of machines.

3.0 Tasks and Technical Requirements/Objectives

The work under this effort will be implemented through an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract task order.

3.1 Technical Areas/Objectives

3.1.1 Human-Robot Teaming

This technical area involves performing experimental work to identify the most fruitful methods to foster team processes between humans and robots. Key elements of the research will involve empirically demonstrating the benefits of socio-emotional methods either via design, interaction, training, or other means as a facilitator of effective team processes between the human and the robotic system.

3.1.2 Trust Calibration

This technical area involves studies aiming to reveal the antecedents of trust within a human-machine trust context.

3.2 Specific Technical Objectives

3.2.1 RHXS In-house laboratories

3.2.1.1 Research

The contractor shall perform in-house research conducted at Wright-Patterson AFB in the Human Insight and Trust Laboratory, Human-Robot Teaming Laboratory, and government-affiliated laboratories associated with RHXS. This research shall require the contractor to perform at various levels within the research domain, to include research assistants, and subject matter experts (SMEs). The contractor shall collaborate with government researchers to create and execute experimental designs, IRB preparations, data collections, data analyses, and technical writing for RHXS research. The contractor may provide hardware or software creation or acquisition as the research deems necessary.

3.2.1.1.1 Human-Robot Teaming

The contractor shall research robotic elements that are intended to enable better communication, trust, coordination, and shared situation awareness between the human and robot. These elements may include social robotics, social etiquette, human-robot dialogue, and robotic design features. The research will lead to experiments in which the contractor shall conduct and collaborate in conducting. These experiments may include simulated human-robot interactions or live interactions with a physical robot. In addition, interactions between the human and the robot may be face-to-face or distributed. The robotic types may include humanoid robots or non-humanoid robots. This research may also include experiments with intelligent agents as a form of autonomous system.

The research in this technical area shall utilize government in-house resources (e.g., laboratory spaces and equipment) and have a high amount of collaboration with government researchers. The contractor shall develop experimental designs, platforms to support experimental design, collect data, analyze data, and write research reports, conference papers, and journal articles.

3.2.1.1.2 Trust Calibration

The contractor shall research and identify factors that shape trust (i.e., when humans fail to trust a trustworthy system, when they trust an untrustworthy system, when they become suspicious of a system but neither trust nor distrust the system, and when they trust the system to an appropriate degree). Key research variables may include, but are not limited to: 1) individual difference variables such as attentional capacity, knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), personality, dispositional biases trending toward suspicion, trust or distrust, and trait emotion; 2) design features of the system; 3) situational factors such as high cognitive workload, state emotion, stress, fatigue; and 4) other contextual factors such as training biases, pedigree of information/source, socially-construed trust, third-party endorsements.

The research in this technical area shall utilize government in-house resources and have a high amount of collaboration with government researchers. The contractor shall develop experimental designs, platforms to support experimental design, collect data, analyze data, and write research reports, conference papers, and journal articles.

3.2.1.2 Participant Recruitment

The nature of the current and planned research in RHXS requires the use of human subjects. Some research may require specialized groups of subjects (e.g., those with software coding experience), which necessitates exploration by the contractor to recruit for and maintain a database of said subjects for in-house research conducted in the Human Insight and Trust Laboratory, Human-Robot Teaming Laboratory, and other government-affiliated laboratories for HIT. Other subject pools may be required, and would include: military participants, non-student samples, and student samples. The contractor shall maintain these samples in the same database as for specialized subjects.

3.2.2 RHXS External Laboratories

The contractor shall collaborate and perform research related to the RHXS mission with academia to expand RHXS research objectives. The contractor shall collaborate with researchers at these facilities and follow all government and facility-specific regulations.

3.2.3 Field Research

The contractor shall perform field research including cognitive tasks analysis, interviews, and survey research in the domain of human-machine trust. Field research may occur at Air Force bases, or other government or industry locations.

3.2.4 Demonstration

The contractor shall perform systems integration of software and hardware components as necessary to perform various technology demonstrations and evaluations.

3.2.5 Management of Effort

3.2.5.2 The contractor shall manage technical schedule and cost satisfaction of the task order;

plan, prepare, conduct and document reviews; track CDRL satisfaction; and interface with the customer to assess performance satisfaction and re-plan the project as needed. Contractor shall comply with all applicable human use and animal use regulations.

3.2.5.3 Contract Holidays Clause Will Apply To This Effort As Follows

The prices/costs in Section B of the contract include holiday observances; accordingly, the Government will not be billed for such holidays, except when services are required by the Government and are actually performed on a holiday. The following days are contract holidays:

New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day,4th of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

4.0 Security Requirements

This effort is unclassified.

4.1 Position of Trust

All contractor personnel require a minimum of a National Agency Check with written Inquires (NACI)/SF85 for any position that requires access to the internet, use of automated systems or unescorted entry into restricted or controlled areas prior to reporting for duty in performance of any task order. The investigation is not for a security clearance; it is for a position of trust. This is a mandatory requirement set forth in DoD 5200.2-R, Personnel Security Program and AFI 31-501, Personnel Security Program Management. All documentation required for security certification shall be the responsibility of the contractor. No foreign nationals shall be employed for any task order issued under this contract without prior approval of the Government.

4.2 Operations Security (OPSEC)

The contractor shall provide OPSEC protection for all sensitive/critical information as defined by AFI 10-701 (Operations Security), the 711 HPW OPSEC Plan, and critical information list. The contractor shall participate in the 711 HPW sustained OPSEC awareness training or include OPSEC training as part of their on-going security program. The 711 HPW OPSEC coordinator will evaluate the OPSEC posture of AF contract activities and operations.

4.3 Information Security and Force Protection

The contractor shall provide Information Security and Force Protection training as defined by AFI 16-1404, Air Force Information Security Program and AFI 10-245 (Air Force Antiterrorism Standards). The contractor shall participate in the 711 HPW sustained information Security and Force Protection/Antiterrorism training or include this training as part of their on-going security program. The 711HPW Security Managers will evaluate the training posture of AF contract activities and operations. This requirement is set forth in AFI 16-1404, AFI 10-245 and applicable AFMC and local supplements.

5.0 CDRLs:

CDRL # CDRL NAME FREQUENCY

A001 Scientific and Technical Reports – Final Report ONE/R A002 Funds and Man-Hour Expenditure Report MTHLY A003 Contract Funds Status Report QRTLY A004 Status Report MTHLY A005 Presentation Material ASREQ