AI Enabled Maneuver Identification via the Maneuver Identification Challenge

Artificial intelligence (AI) has enormous potential to improve Air Force pilot training by providing actionable feedback to pilot trainees on the quality of their maneuvers and enabling instructor-less flying familiarization for early-stage trainees in low-cost simulators. Historically, AI challenges consisting of data, problem descriptions, and example code have been critical to fueling AI breakthroughs. The Department of the Air Force-Massachusetts Institute of Technology AI Accelerator (DAF-MIT AI Accelerator) developed such an AI challenge using real-world Air Force flight simulator data. The Maneuver ID challenge assembled thousands of virtual reality simulator flight recordings collected by actual Air Force student pilots at Pilot Training Next (PTN). This dataset has been publicly released at Maneuver-ID.mit.edu and represents the first of its kind public release of USAF flight training data. Using this dataset, we have applied a variety of AI methods to separate "good" vs "bad" simulator data and categorize and characterize maneuvers. These data, algorithms, and software are being released as baselines of model performance for others to build upon to enable the AI ecosystem for flight simulator training.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, accepted to and presented at I/ITSE

NADPH and glutathione redox link TCA cycle activity to endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis

Many metabolic diseases disrupt endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis, but little is known about how metabolic activity is communicated to the ER. Here, we show in hepatocytes and other metabolically active cells that decreasing the availability of substrate for the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle diminished NADPH production, elevated glutathione oxidation, led to altered oxidative maturation of ER client proteins, and attenuated ER stress. This attenuation was prevented when glutathione oxidation was disfavored. ER stress was also alleviated by inhibiting either TCA-dependent NADPH production or Glutathione Reductase. Conversely, stimulating TCA activity increased NADPH production, glutathione reduction, and ER stress. Validating these findings, deletion of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier-which is known to decrease TCA cycle activity and protect the liver from steatohepatitis-also diminished NADPH, elevated glutathione oxidation, and alleviated ER stress. Together, our results demonstrate a novel pathway by which mitochondrial metabolic activity is communicated to the ER through the relay of redox metabolites

Developing a Series of AI Challenges for the United States Department of the Air Force

Through a series of federal initiatives and orders, the U.S. Government has been making a concerted effort to ensure American leadership in AI. These broad strategy documents have influenced organizations such as the United States Department of the Air Force (DAF). The DAF-MIT AI Accelerator is an initiative between the DAF and MIT to bridge the gap between AI researchers and DAF mission requirements. Several projects supported by the DAF-MIT AI Accelerator are developing public challenge problems that address numerous Federal AI research priorities. These challenges target priorities by making large, AI-ready datasets publicly available, incentivizing open-source solutions, and creating a demand signal for dual use technologies that can stimulate further research. In this article, we describe these public challenges being developed and how their application contributes to scientific advances