Effects of automation on situation awareness in controlling robot teams

Declines in situation awareness (SA) often accompany automation. Some of these effects have been characterized as out-of-the-loop, complacency, and automation bias. Increasing autonomy in multi-robot control might be expected to produce similar declines in operators’ SA. In this paper we review a series of experiments in which automation is introduced in controlling robot teams. Automating path planning at a foraging task improved both target detection and localization which is closely tied to SA. Timing data, however, suggested small declines in SA for robot location and pose. Automation of image acquisition, by contrast, led to poorer localization. Findings are discussed and alternative explanations involving shifts in strategy proposed

Acknowledgement Response and Interference Timing During the Processing of Voice and Datalink ATC Commands

In aviation, effective communication between air traffic control (ATC) and pilots is critical to pilot performance and safety. Problems and limitations of current radio communications initiated the development of datalink technology. Datalink is a text system used to send messages between ATC and pilots. Although datalink was intended to reduce errors associated with radio communication, there are new concerns related to changes in information processing demands associated with executing speech and text ATC commands. In addition, the nature of responses differs between voice and datalink systems. In a voice environment, responses are immediate. However, time delays exist with datalink. These time delays may create an opportunity for interference. Therefore, the timing of interference and the acknowledgement response on command execution performance were examined during the processing of simulated ATC commands. Verbal and central executive (CE) interference tasks were presented before or after the acknowledgement. Participants received both speech and text commands, responded by a verbal or manual acknowledgement, and set the controls in a flight simulator. Results demonstrated no differences between speech and text formats with a verbal acknowledgement. However, there was an advantage for a manual acknowledgement with longer messages. Regarding interference timing, CE as opposed to verbal interference prior to an acknowledgement had a greater negative effect on control setting performance and the magnitude of this effect was larger in the text condition. Thus, text information appears to be more susceptible to the negative effects of interference as resources begin to reach capacity. However, the differences between the sources of interference decreased with an increase in message length. Therefore, the timing and type of interference can have differential effects on resource capacity and the ability to rehearse information in memory. It was also suggested that the processing code of a task is of more importance than the response code. The findings are interpreted within the context of a working memory and resource perspective and implications are discussed with regard to the communication process in aviation

The Impact of Automation and Stress on Human Performance in UAV Operation

The United States Air Force (USAF) has increasing needs for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators. Automation may enable a single operator to manage multiple UAVs at the same time. Multi-UAV operation may require a unique set of skills and the need for new operators calls for targeting new populations for recruitment. The objective of this research is to develop a simulation environment for studying the role of individual differences in UAV operation under different task configurations and investigate predictors of performance and stress. Primarily, the study examined the impact of levels of automation (LOAs), as well as task demands, on task performance, stress and operator reliance on automation. Two intermediate LOAs were employed for two surveillance tasks included in the simulation of UAV operation. Task demand was manipulated via the high and low frequency of events associated with additional tasks included in the simulation. The task demand and LOA manipulations influenced task performance generally as expected. The task demand manipulations elicited higher subjective distress and workload. LOAs did not affect operator workload but affected reliance behavior. Also, this study examined the role of individual differences in simulated UAV operation. A variety of individual difference factors were associated with task performance and with subjective stress response. Video gaming experience was linked to lower distress and better performance, suggesting possible transfer of skills. Some gender differences were revealed in stress response, task performance, but all the gender effects became insignificant with gaming experience controlled. Generally, the effects of personality were consistent with previous studies, except some novel findings with the performance metrics. Additionally, task demand was found to moderate the influence of personality factors on stress response and performance metrics. Specifically, conscientiousness was associated with higher subjective engagement and performance when demands were higher. This study supports future research which aims to improve the dynamic interfaces in UAV operation, optimize operator reliance on automation, and identify individuals with the highest aptitude for multi-UAV control

Technical approaches for measurement of human errors

Human error is a significant contributing factor in a very high proportion of civil transport, general aviation, and rotorcraft accidents. The technical details of a variety of proven approaches for the measurement of human errors in the context of the national airspace system are presented. Unobtrusive measurements suitable for cockpit operations and procedures in part of full mission simulation are emphasized. Procedure, system performance, and human operator centered measurements are discussed as they apply to the manual control, communication, supervisory, and monitoring tasks which are relevant to aviation operations

The Effects On Operator Performance And Workload When Gunnery And Robotic Control Tasks Are Performed Concurrently

The purpose of this research was to examine operator workload and performance in a high risk, multi-task environment. Specifically, the research examined if a gunner of a Future Combat System, such as a Mounted Combat System, could effectively detect targets in the immediate environment while concurrently operating robotic assets in a remote environment. It also analyzed possible effects of individual difference factors, such as spatial ability and attentional control, on operator performance and workload. The experimental conditions included a gunner baseline and concurrent task conditions where participants simultaneously performed gunnery tasks and one of the following tasks: monitor an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) via a video feed (Monitor), manage a semi-autonomous UGV, and teleoperate a UGV (Teleop). The analysis showed that the asset condition significantly impacted gunnery performance with the gunner baseline having the highest number of targets detected (M = 13.600 , SD = 2.353), and concurrent Teleop condition the lowest (M = 9.325 , SD = 2.424). The research also found that high spatial ability participants tended to detect more targets than low spatial ability participants. Robotic task performance was also affect by the asset condition. The results showed that the robotic target detection rate was lower for the concurrent task conditions. A significant difference was seen between the UGV-baseline (80.1%) when participants performed UGV tasks only and UGV-concurrent conditions (67.5%) when the participants performed UGV tasks concurrently with gunnery tasks. Overall, this study revealed that there were performance decrements for the gunnery tasks as well as the robotic tasks when the tasks were performed concurrently

Classification and reduction of pilot error

Human error is a primary or contributing factor in about two-thirds of commercial aviation accidents worldwide. With the ultimate goal of reducing pilot error accidents, this contract effort is aimed at understanding the factors underlying error events and reducing the probability of certain types of errors by modifying underlying factors such as flight deck design and procedures. A review of the literature relevant to error classification was conducted. Classification includes categorizing types of errors, the information processing mechanisms and factors underlying them, and identifying factor-mechanism-error relationships. The classification scheme developed by Jens Rasmussen was adopted because it provided a comprehensive yet basic error classification shell or structure that could easily accommodate addition of details on domain-specific factors. For these purposes, factors specific to the aviation environment were incorporated. Hypotheses concerning the relationship of a small number of underlying factors, information processing mechanisms, and error types types identified in the classification scheme were formulated. ASRS data were reviewed and a simulation experiment was performed to evaluate and quantify the hypotheses

Switch choice in applied multi-task management

2014 Summer.Little to date is known concerning how operators make choices in environments where cognitive load is high and they are faced with multiple different tasks to choose from. This dissertation reviewed a large body of voluntary task switching literature concerning basic research into choice in task switching, as well as what literature was available for applied task switching. From this and a prior model, a revised model of task switching choice that takes into account specific task attributes of difficulty, priority, interest and salience, was developed. In the first experiment, it was shown that task difficulty and priority influenced switching behavior. While task attributes were hypothesized to influence switching, a second major influence is time on task. In the second experiment, it was shown that tasks indeed vary in their interruptability over time, and this was related in part to what task was competing for attention as well as the cognitive processing required for the ongoing task performance. In a third experiment, a new methodology was developed to experimentally assess the role of diminishing rate of returns for performing a task. This declining rate was expected (and did result in) a general increase of switching away from an ongoing task over time. In conclusion, while task attributes and time on task play a major role in task switching in the current studies, defining the time period for theorized effects appears to be the next major step toward understanding switching choice behavior. Additionally, though the experiments are novel and certainly make a major contribution, to the extent that behavior is only represented in them, the methodology may miss some amount of `other' task behavior, such as visual sampling

Friend/foe Identification Accuracy And Shooting Performance: Effects Of Prior Task Loading And Time Pressure

The current dismounted soldier and the soldier of the future will be loaded with more information processing tasks while they perform shooting tasks. It is conceivable that some increased level of cognitive tasking may be performed simultaneously with required shooting tasks. The effect of cognitive load on shooting performance has been previously examined (Scribner and Harper, 2001). This study concentrated on the effect of various cognitive workload demands on a friend-foe discrimination shooting task in a single- and dual-task scenario. In light of this, it is imperative that the soldier not be overburdened mentally, which may result in decreased survivability and lethality. Specifically, this study was designed to examine the ability of the soldier to perform friend-foe target discrimination and shooting accuracy, with varying target exposure times, friendly target signatures, and varying cognitive load demands (working memory recall task). Using the Small Arms Simulator Testbed (SAST) we examined the effects of manipulations of working memory load and sustained information transfer, on shooting performance (as measured by target acquisition and friend/foe discrimination indices). Additionally, we investigated subjective measures of workload and stress. A secondary task, administered aurally, was given to subjects to attend to while they performed shooting (friend/foe discrimination task) scenarios: working memory recall task. Each type of task consisted of three levels of difficulty. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences for the memory recall task during shooting and non-shooting conditions. Furthermore, results showed that workload increased as a function of task demand, with associated decreases in shooting performance

Investigation of possible causes for human-performance degradation during microgravity flight

The results of the first year of a three year study of the effects of microgravity on human performance are given. Test results show support for the hypothesis that the effects of microgravity can be studied indirectly on Earth by measuring performance in an altered gravitational field. The hypothesis was that an altered gravitational field could disrupt performance on previously automated behaviors if gravity was a critical part of the stimulus complex controlling those behaviors. In addition, it was proposed that performance on secondary cognitive tasks would also degrade, especially if the subject was provided feedback about degradation on the previously automated task. In the initial experimental test of these hypotheses, there was little statistical support. However, when subjects were categorized as high or low in automated behavior, results for the former group supported the hypotheses. The predicted interaction between body orientation and level of workload in their joint effect on performance in the secondary cognitive task was significant for the group high in automatized behavior and receiving feedback, but no such interventions were found for the group high in automatized behavior but not receiving feedback, or the group low in automatized behavior

Mental-State Estimation, 1987

Reports on the measurement and evaluation of the physiological and mental state of operators are presented