‘NAUTICAL,’ the AI assistant for Instructional Systems Designers, accelerates ISD analysis to create and update training at “Speed to the Fleet”

Aptima, Inc., announced today that it is the 1st Place Winner of the Navy Ready Relevant Learning (RRL) Prize Challenge, which was awarded on Wednesday afternoon, December 13, 2023, in Orlando.

Sponsored by the Central Florida Tech Grove, in partnership with Team Orlando, Office of Naval Research (ONR), Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD), and National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), the RRL Prize Challenge seeks to identify solutions that address a critical barrier in effectively implementing Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Analysis for training for military readiness and human performance.

Aptima was selected from an initial pool of 64 submitting companies; from there, the initial list down-selected to 14 submissions; and finally four Finalists were selected for consideration.

As the 1st Prize Winner, Aptima developed an initial proof of concept prototype that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) large language models to automate the process of conducting ISD analysis, and requirements development, for RRL to answer the challenge question:

For Instructional Systems Design, can AI large language models be used to develop quality Task Analysis, Learning Analysis, and Media Selection data in reduced time and reduced cost?

Aptima in Action
To answer this challenge, in just two months, Aptima’s Ready Relevant Learning Challenge team designed and built NAUTICAL, the Novel AI Utility for Training, Instruction, and Comprehensive Analytic Learning, a revolutionary AI platform that harnesses advanced generative AI language models to enhance the Navy’s ISD workflow. NAUTICAL automates labor-intensive processes like task analysis through expert-crafted prompting strategies, batch parallel generation, and iterative quality assessment techniques including innovative Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and Chain-of-Thought (COT) methods to expand context. By combining intelligent automation with human oversight, NAUTICAL allows humans and AI to seamlessly collaborate on addressing the Navy’s training demands. With its strategic vision responsibly transitioning cutting-edge AI to impact frontline workflows, NAUTICAL establishes the Navy’s leadership in leveraging AI to revolutionize training efficiency and deliver unprecedented value across the fleet.

Aptima congratulates its amazing NAUTICAL team, who put their hearts and souls into this effort: Robert McCormack, Ramona Shires, Gabriel Ganberg, Peter Bautista, Ramisha Knight, Kara Orvis, and Janet Spruill.