AI-powered pilot training initiative supported by CAE USA
NewsAugust 18, 2020
TAMPA, Fla. CAE USA has won a contract from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to support the U.S. Air Force Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and its Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT 2.5) initiative.
The UPT 2.5 initiative, which builds upon the Air Force’s Pilot Training Next experiment and falls under the broader umbrella of Pilot Training Transformation (PTT), will aim to implement a range of commercial technologies and learning methodologies to help the Air Force streamline pilot training and create a more open, self-paced, and adaptive student-centered training environment.
Specifically, CAE USA will have responsibility for the installation and integration of a cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS), which is a key element of the CAE Trax Academy pilot training continuum. The LMS is designed to enable the Air Force and its students to access training content such as schedules, courseware, and remote instruction more easily on demand.
In addition, by implementing an LMS that is optimized through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the Air Force expects to create a pilot training process that is continually adapting and improving. The Air Force also intends to develop an AI flight instructor that would provide active and passive instruction to aid student learning and progression through the pilot training syllabus.
Over the next year during the initial phase of the UPT 2.5 effort, CAE will collaborate with the Air Force and other industry partners to develop and test the LMS and AI components. Installation, integration, and testing will take place initially at both Joint Base San Antonio Randolph (JBSA-Randolph) in Texas and Vance Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma.
