The historical development and basis of human factors guidelines for automated systems in aeronautical operations

In order to derive general design guidelines for automated systems a study was conducted on the utilization and acceptance of existing automated systems as currently employed in several commercial fields. Four principal study area were investigated by means of structured interviews, and in some cases questionnaires. The study areas were aviation, a both scheduled airline and general commercial aviation; process control and factory applications; office automation; and automation in the power industry. The results of over eighty structured interviews were analyzed and responses categoried as various human factors issues for use by both designers and users of automated equipment. These guidelines address such items as general physical features of automated equipment; personnel orientation, acceptance, and training; and both personnel and system reliability

Space Station Human Factors Research Review. Volume 4: Inhouse Advanced Development and Research

A variety of human factors studies related to space station design are presented. Subjects include proximity operations and window design, spatial perceptual issues regarding displays, image management, workload research, spatial cognition, virtual interface, fault diagnosis in orbital refueling, and error tolerance and procedure aids

A rapid prototyping/artificial intelligence approach to space station-era information management and access

Applications of rapid prototyping and Artificial Intelligence techniques to problems associated with Space Station-era information management systems are described. In particular, the work is centered on issues related to: (1) intelligent man-machine interfaces applied to scientific data user support, and (2) the requirement that intelligent information management systems (IIMS) be able to efficiently process metadata updates concerning types of data handled. The advanced IIMS represents functional capabilities driven almost entirely by the needs of potential users. Space Station-era scientific data projected to be generated is likely to be significantly greater than data currently processed and analyzed. Information about scientific data must be presented clearly, concisely, and with support features to allow users at all levels of expertise efficient and cost-effective data access. Additionally, mechanisms for allowing more efficient IIMS metadata update processes must be addressed. The work reported covers the following IIMS design aspects: IIMS data and metadata modeling, including the automatic updating of IIMS-contained metadata, IIMS user-system interface considerations, including significant problems associated with remote access, user profiles, and on-line tutorial capabilities, and development of an IIMS query and browse facility, including the capability to deal with spatial information. A working prototype has been developed and is being enhanced

Master of Science

thesisThis thesis is a summary of work performed by the Utah Traffic Lab (UTL) to develop a training program for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Traffic Operations Center (TOC) operators. Operators who were normally trained on the job are now trained at the UTL prior to beginning work at the TOC. In order to conduct the training, the UTL began with the UDOT TOC mission statement and applied a military approach to develop individual training tasks required of operators. The UTL then organized these tasks into a concise, two-week training course that could be taught offsite at the UTL. The authors also updated the UTL video display and advanced traffic management system (ATMS) software package to mimic that of the TOC. This gave access to all ATMS devices in the Salt Lake City network and allowed the trainers to evaluate operators in a simulated work environment. Finally, the program was evaluated and adjusted after several iterations. Although training operators offsite is not a new technique, the UTL used the unique approach of focusing training on the regional transportation network and branching off into other relevant topics when appropriate. The UTL found that understanding the local and regional transportation network was the single most important factor in efficient incident management on the roadways. Likewise, incident management is the most important skill of the traffic operator. Other skills such as communicating efficiently with other agencies and operating ATMS devices are relevant and must be taught, but they are secondary to an understanding of the transportation network. This paper is a critical overview of the training methods developed

System Programming - The Human and the Machine

The purpose of this paper is to document my experiences in planning, generating, and modifying the IBM VM/SP operating system (systems programming), survey literature on systems programming, and to draw conclusions as to what makes a successful systems programming experience. I will explore the skills necessary for the systems programmer to perform the tasks, as well as discuss aspects of the system itself (hardware, software, and documentation) that affect the success of any systems programming effort. This work is intended to serve as a case study of a VM/SP systems programmer working on WISPcompatible hardware. Judgments as to how these skills and conclusions may apply to other platforms are left to the reader

Mobile pupillometry in manual assembly : a pilot study exploring the wearability and external validity of a renowned mental workload lab measure

Human operators in the upcoming Industry 4.0 workplace will face accelerating job demands such as elevated cognitive complexity. Unobtrusive objective measures of mental workload (MWL) are therefore in high demand as indicated by both theory and practice. This pilot study explored the wearability and external validity of pupillometry, a MWL measure robustly validated in laboratory settings and now deployable in work settings demanding operator mobility. In an ecologically valid work environment, 21 participants performed two manual assemblies - one of low and one of high complexity - while wearing eye-tracking glasses for pupil size measurement. Results revealed that the device was perceived as fairly wearable in terms of physical and mental comfort. In terms of validity, no significant differences in mean pupil size were found between the assemblies even though subjective mental workload differed significantly. Exploratory analyses on the pupil size when attending to the assembly instructions only, were inconclusive. The present work suggests that current lab-based procedures might not be adequate yet for in-the-field mobile pupillometry. From a broader perspective, these findings also invite a more nuanced view on the current validity of lab-validated physiological MWL-measures when applied in real-life settings. We therefore conclude with some key insights for future development of mobile pupillometry

Earth orbital teleoperator system evaluation: Test report, 1979 - 1980

Areas which have significant influence upon the engineering design of an operational teleoperator are addressed. Teleoperator lighting systems, thruster systems, and stereoptic visual systems are discussed. The effects of specified levels of several teleoperator subsystems on human operator performance are determined. Four evaluations are reviewed, each dealing with operator performance under various task conditions

Application of the Augmented Operator Function Model for Developing Performance Metrics in Persistent Surveillance

Difficulties with the implementation of persistent Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) sensors to support real-time military missions have risen within Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance organizations. In this study, cognitive models were developed of operators performing real-time missions currently supported by narrow field of view Full Motion Video (FMV) and WAMI sensors. These models were used in conjunction with a cognitive task analysis, creating an augmented operator function model (OFM-COG). This thesis describes the OFM-COG and demonstrates how this model-based analysis technique can document the cognitive implications of persistent surveillance with motion imagery. The analytic procedures required to build this model result in a methodology for the definition of an information display system specific for intelligence analysis tasks. Specifically, the models developed examine the cognitive demands of an Imagery Analyst (IA) during a real-time mission, with WAMI and/or FMV. From this, a set of cognitive metrics for analyst performance were identified for the real-time military missions in persistent surveillance