Performance Gains from Speech-enhanced Simulation in Military Flying Training

Flight simulation is a proven technique for training technical and procedural skills, but team skills present needs that remain unmet by simulator technology. Communication and coordination, two skills representative of this gap, are typically incorporated into simulation via human role players, a practice that entails cost, introduces variation, and can compromise availability of training. In this article we explore the use of speech-interactive synthetic teammates to bring team skills into simulation-based training. We report on a US Air Force study that led to the development of a desktop air traffic pattern simulation for practicing radio communications, and present findings from a study conducted with US Air Force student pilots who employed this system during part of their pilot training. The work reported here addresses two questions. First, can contemporary desktop simulation augmented with intelligent agents and voice recognition provide training gains in communications performance among student pilots? Second, will users accept this approach?