The Path Planner Agent guides the human team members through the route-planning task and performs much of the task itself. This agent acts much like a "black box" or a "Greek Oracle." The agent creates the route using its knowledge of the physical terrain and an artificial intelligence planning algorithm that seeks to find the shortest path. The agent is aware of physical constraints only. Commanders must translate the intangible constraints into physical ones by drawing contrained areas on the map. Click the following thumbnail for examples of user-defined constraints, indicated by shaded boxes, that the Planner Agent must negotiate in designing an acceptable route:

The second agent analyzes the routes drawn or modified by the human team members and helps them to refine their plans. In this mode, the human and agent work jointly to plan a route to the rendevous point. The workload is distributed so that each component is working to its strengths. Thus, the commander, who has a privileged understanding of the intangible constraints and utilities associated with the mission, can direct the route around these constraints as desired. However, the commander may not be as knowledgeable about the terrain and so the agent can indicate where the path is sub-optimal due to violations of physical constraints. The commander draws the desired route and requests that the Critique Agent review the route for physical, social, or economic violations or to indicate where the path can be improved. Click the following thumbnail for a sample critique: