Energid Technologies Corporation today announced a significant breakthrough in human-machine collaboration technology. Based on software being developed for the Air Force, Energid’s Multi-Modal Dialog Architecture allows a human to interact and collaborate realistically with an intelligent agent or with a real robot. The architecture’s core dialog module is coupled with a logic-based synthetic vision module, allowing for context-based, spatially referenced dialog between the user and the agent or robot. Using the Multi-Modal Dialog Architecture, the agent or robot can communicate and reason about its environment in a manner similar to a real person in a real-world scenario.

robot"The technology we developed is being used in an Air Force training wargame,” said James English, Chief Technical Officer at Energid Technologies, “but it is just as applicable to a real-world robotic system, video game, or training system. It’s an exciting breakthrough.”

The technology has been under development since 2005 as part of an Air Force Research Laboratory research project focused on training Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs). JTACs direct combat aircraft engaged in close air support (CAS). “They are highly trained specialists with a rich heritage dating back to Vietnam,” said Brian O’Flynn, Principal Investigator for the project. “In recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan their role has been vital. Whenever bombs are being dropped in support of friendly troops, there is likely a JTAC close by.”

JTAC Strike (TM), Energid’s JTAC wargame, enables full mission training and rehearsal. The player’s interface to the simulated pilot is pure voice communication. JTACs may perform an entire virtual CAS mission from mission planning to execution and post-attack. JTAC Strike permits a realistic, stand- alone training environment where the JTAC can get near-real-world training on a PC, making training accessible anytime or anyplace a laptop or desktop computer is available.

Energid will apply the Multi-Modal Dialog Architecture to a wide range of future projects where man-machine collaboration is needed. “We see this technology being directly applicable to space operations, surgery training systems, the entertainment industry, and a wide range of robotic-based systems,” said Jim Bacon, Principal Engineer for the project. “We’re optimistic it will change the way we interact with machines in the future.”

For additional information, contact Neil Tardella, (888) 547-4100 x 402, .

About Energid Technologies
Energid Technologies is an engineering firm focused on solving challenging problems in robotics, machine vision, and simulation. Customers include commercial robotics manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Defense, and NASA. Founded in 2001, its headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It has regional presence in major cities throughout the country. For more information, please visit http://www.energid.com.

JTAC Strike and the Energid logo are trademarks of Energid Technologies Corporation.