Army Research Laboratory: Human Research and Engineering Directorate (ARL-HRED)

Human Research and Engineering EAR Facility The Human Research and Engineering Directorate (HRED) serves as the U.S. Army's principal organization for conducting basic and applied research in the Human Sciences, focusing on future technologies to enhance Soldier performance and Soldier-system interactions. HRED is 1) the execution agent for Army Human Systems Integration (Army HSI, formerly known as MANPRINT), which assesses and addresses critical human performance issues for systems throughout the Army's acquisition process and 2) the Army's Science and Technology (S&T) organization whose mission is to develop and integrate, for field demonstration, technologies for training and mission rehearsal. HRED research is conducted within three ARL S&T Campaigns: Human Sciences, which is led by HRED; Assessment and Analysis; and Computational Sciences. HRED heads ARL's Human-Agent Teaming (HAT) and Accelerated Learning for a Ready and Responsive Force Essential Research Areas (ERAs) and directs S&T efforts within several other ERAs. The HRED S&T portfolio is aligned to the Army's Modernization Priorities, with major emphases on Next Generation Combat Vehicle and Soldier Lethality, including Synthetic Training Environment (STE). These diverse missions require the directorate to be responsive and flexible. To enhance synergies and to align internal experience and talent to mission needs, the Directorate has organized into three divisions: Future Soldier Technology, Soldier Battlefield Integration, and Advanced Training and Simulation. Future Soldier Technology Soldier Performance The Future Soldier Technology (FST) Division conducts basic and early applied research in human behavior and performance and in the interaction of humans and systems. FST is headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Md. Interpreting and predicting people and their behaviors requires a focus on individual and team-level multi-aspect measurement and signal processing technologies, including real-world and/or ubiquitous sensing technologies. Next-generation human capability enhancement is examined by focusing on future technologies that will rapidly enhance human capabilities, including physical and neural augmentation, neuroscience-driven approaches to augmentation and training, and understanding the interactions between training and augmentation. Research on novel interactions between Soldiers and advanced technology focuses on creating innovative approaches to multi-modal, brain-based and bi-directional interfaces and to human/technology decision making. Soldiers within dynamic heterogeneous, multi-agent teams are examined, with a focus on fundamental integration issues, in complex environments where teams of humans must work together with autonomous virtual and physical agents to achieve mission objectives. Research in mutually adaptive systems, multi-agent control and coordination, and social issues with human and non-human entities across time scales provides the foundational understanding necessary to support innovations that enhance human-system integration and performance. Soldier Battlefield Integration The Soldier Battlefield Integration (SBI) Division has two primary missions: applied research and Army HSI. SBI conducts applied research in cognitive and physical demands, complex control and decision making, future ground operations in socio-cultural diverse contexts, and mission command, and it serves as the execution agent for Army HSI assessments throughout the Army acquisition cycle. SBI is headquartered at APG, Md, but has personnel at 20 locations to support the Army's HSI needs. The Army HSI program plays a critical role in supporting combat and materiel developers. HRED's HSI practitioners provide the Army and ARL with human factors integration leadership to ensure that Soldier performance requirements are adequately considered in technology development and system design. The SBI Division endeavors to bridge fundamental research and Army HSI concerns to improve Soldier-system performance based on human factors principles backed by scientific evidence. Areas of focus include dismounted and team performance, cognitive and physical demands, aviation, air defense, fires, complex control and decision making, mounted maneuver and support systems, complex ground operations, and cyber and networked systems. Last Update / Reviewed: May 10, 2018 Email for more information