The CECOM Integrated Logistics Support Center HQ Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Maintenance team, in partnership with the CECOM Software Engineering Center, is developing an AIAM tool as part of their wider Logistics Assistance Program Transformation Initiative.
In support of the AIAM effort, CECOM ILSC Chief Warrant Officer Lou Gerber and AIAM developer Sean Murphy visited the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California. The objective of their trip was to demonstrate AIAM to both Soldiers and logistics assistance representatives, showcase the tool’s utility, and capture meaningful feedback from real world scenarios.
Following this demonstration, the AIAM development team engaged in unit acceptance testing with the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s Brigade Support Battalion. The unit used AIAM to aid in operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of the Advance Medium Mobile Power Sources, Joint Battle Command Platform, and Mounted Mission Command Software.
AIAM provides Soldiers with 24/7 access to expert-level troubleshooting, reducing diagnostic time and accelerating equipment return to service. When AIAM cannot resolve a Soldier’s issue, the system automatically escalates the ticket to a LAR, initiating the second tier of a three-tiered maintenance system. AIAM augments the skills of our LARs, enabling them to focus on complex challenges and specialized support, rather than routine faults Soldiers should resolve using appropriate technical manuals.
Soldiers provided the national stock number of the system they wanted to maintain, and then informed AIAM of the issues they were encountering with the system. Descriptions of such issues may be as simplistic as “screen broke”, and AIAM’s sophisticated memory bank can relate that to the respective technical manual of the system. From there, AIAM offers a diagnostic rundown of the steps the Soldier should take to repair the system at hand.
Observing the 53rd IBCT Soldiers at work, Murphy said, “Soldiers gave us overwhelming positive feedback, which was very encouraging. All AIAM bugs that we noticed during the event were able to be fixed within 24 hours of discovery, leading to a well-functioning system that was able to help a high stress situation. [AIAM] filled a gap in knowledge, especially for operators”.
The unit acceptance test took place over the course of six days. Following their use of AIAM, the unit provided the AIAM development team with valuable feedback which Murphy used to make significant changes to the tool in between testing days. “We were able to add 22 additional features to the program, ranging from minor presentation improvements to significant workflow enhancements that added real value to Soldiers like displaying images, allowing for supervisor/LAR interaction with escalated tickets, and the ability to display operation work packages directly,” Murphy said.
Other feedback received from the unit will be used to improve AIAM even further in the weeks to come. The Soldiers involved in the testing provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, and the tool’s effectiveness garnered significant interest.
“Over the course of the unit acceptance test, AIAM has proven itself to be a viable and crucial tool in that it allows Soldiers to return systems to fully mission capable status faster than traditional methods,” Chief Warrant Officer Gerber said, speaking about the application’s overall transformative utility. “This capability will prove invaluable in future large scale combat and multi-domain conflicts.” Future development is planned for FY26.
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