Minimizing Data Requirements for Soldier-Interactive AI/ML Applications Through Opportunistic Sensing

The application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies to Aided Target Recognition (AiTR) systems will significantly improve target acquisition and engagement effectiveness. Although, the effectiveness of these AI/ML technologies is based on the quantity and quality of labeled training data, there is very limited labeled operational data available. Creating this data is both time-consuming and expensive, and AI/ML technologies can be brittle and unable to adapt to changing environmental conditions or adversary tactics that are not represented in the training data. As a result, continuous operational data collection and labeling are required to adapt and refine these algorithms, but collecting and labeling operational data carries potentially catastrophic risks if it requires Soldier interaction that degrades critical task performance. Addressing this problem to achieve robust, effective AI/ML for AiTR requires a multi-faceted approach integrating a variety of techniques such as generating synthetic data and using algorithms that learn on sparse and incomplete data. In particular, we argue that it is critical to leverage opportunistic sensing: obtaining operational data required to train and validate AI/ML algorithms from tasks the operator is already doing, without negatively affecting performance on those tasks or requiring any additional tasks to be performed. By leveraging the Soldier's substantial skills, capabilities, and adaptability, it will be possible to develop effective and adaptive AI/ML technologies for AiTR in the future Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) battlefield.