Situational awareness training for operators of unmanned aerial vehicles

In civilian operations, the utilisation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is diverse and the application needs and performance characteristics also vary widely. To this end, the growing opportunities for UAV operations have generated an urgent need for trained operators to ensure these systems are used effectively and safely. This paper discusses the importance and integration of appropriate non-technical skills (NTS) training with a focus on situation awareness (SA) to further improve UAV mission effectiveness. The paper explores technical design and human factors challenges impacting on UAV operations. While technical design solutions to UAV systems and interfaces are examined, the authors contend that specific training strategies, which focus on the human UAV operator, should also be considered

A Digital Future in Virtual Reality — Insights for Training

Virtual reality is now being used throughout various sectors. It is a tool which is being increasingly relied upon to support cost-effective and safe opportunities to build skills development. There has, however, been little research into whether a virtual environment provides the same effectiveness as a real-world environment. For virtual reality to be an effective tool, we must better understand the impact of using it. To determine this, we investigate whether there is an additional cognitive load when operating in a virtual environment and we measure whether such a load impacts upon an individual’s performance. Through the use of a ‘quadrant’ study in both real and virtual environments and with both the presence and absence of a secondary task, we identified that there is no significant cognitive load added when working within the virtual environment, and so the use of virtual reality can indeed be effective in terms of comparative performance with the real-world. This research was conducted with approval of the Human Research Ethics Committee (Tasmania) Network; the reference number for the study is: H0018156

Improving Community Capacity in Rapid Disaster Mapping: An Evaluation of Summer School

Experiences with natural disasters have intensified recent efforts to enhance cooperation mechanisms among official disaster management institutions to community participation. These experiences reveal a need to enhance rapid mapping technical assistance to be developed and shared among young scientists through a summer school. However, the question arose of how effective this summer school to be used as a tool to increase scientists’ understanding and capacity. This study sought to evaluate the extent to which human resource capacity building can be effectively implemented. The methods used for this evaluation is through observations, questionnaires and a weighted scoring based on knowledge, skills and attitudes’ criteria. The results indicate a significant improvement in knowledge (94.56%), skills (82%) and attitudes (85.20%) among the participants. Even though there are still gaps in participants’ skills, the summer school was found to be an effective way to train the young scientists for rapid mapping

Train Your Frontline Personnel from Newbie to Master IT Users: A Three-Phase Longitudinal Experiment Focusing on Technology Compatibility

Background: Although many decision makers have recognized the importance of training to the success of their frontline personnel and organizations, hidden technological compatibility issues can lead to training failure especially when different generations, or iterations, of hardware and software are involved. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of different levels (high vs. low) of compatibility between software and hardware on frontline trainees’ gained understanding of the related IT. Method: Grounded in experiential learning, we designed a three-stage training experiment that involved the use of cloud-based geographical information systems and radio-frequency identification devices. The experiment included compatibility between hardware and software, a longitudinal learning simulation, and a real-world frontline scenario. 33 students enrolled in an introductory course from a major business school participated in the training, and their responses during each training stage were collected. Results: The results revealed that compatibility is a critical factor in determining the success or failure of an IT training program. High compatibility helps frontline trainees accumulate useful IT knowledge over time, while low compatibility tends to reduce their learning outcome on the related IT over time. Conclusions: This study is one of the few that focus on IT training issues relating to a neglected but important user group – frontline workers. Studying hardware-software compatibility of the target technology expands the understanding of factors that influence IT training outcomes. This research highlights the strategic role of well-articulated IT compatibility in frontline IT training

Interacción de equipos mixtos humano robot: aspectos psicológicos y factor humano en el manejo de vehículos aéreos no tripulados

En el presente estudio se analizan variables psicológicas, cognitivas y emocionales con el fin de saber el modo en que pueden afectar a una tarea de vuelo con Drones. También se aborda la influencia de la autonomía a la hora de llevar a cabo una misión de vuelo real mediante la colaboración entre piloto y copiloto. Para ello, se contó con dos grupos de estudios, uno inicial de 32 sujetos que llevaron a cabo pruebas en un simulador y otro compuesto por 20 sujetos (5 profesionales y 15 procedentes de la fase de simulación) que llevaron a cabo una prueba de vuelo real. Los resultados muestran como una componente formada por variables cognitivas y de personalidad es capaz de explicar el 52% de los resultados en la prueba de simulador

Differentiating Active And Passive Fatigue States With The Use Of Electroencephalography

With advances in automation technology, it is becoming essential to understand how automation affects human operators. A concern for the implementation of automation technology is the interactive effects it has with operator cognitive fatigue. Desmond and Hancock (2001) proposed that two types of fatigue can arise depending on the nature of the task: active and passive. Active fatigue results when operators must make constant perceptual-motor adjustments during high task demands, while passive fatigue results from operators executing little or no perceptual-motor adjustments during low task demands, similar to when automation is employed. The purpose of this study was to use electroencephalographic (EEG) indices of workload, engagement, and a candidate marker of strain under fatigue in conjunction with performance and subjective measures to differentiate active and passive fatigue states. Participants (N = 84) performed a generalized flight simulator for 62 min either under active, passive, or control conditions. Passive fatigue was characterized by reduced EEG engagement and initially elevated and stable ratios of Fz theta to POz alpha power compared to active fatigue. Subjective measure results indicated that passive fatigue was characterized by reduced ratings of alertness and workload compared to active fatigue. No performance differences were observed between fatigue conditions; however, an overall speed-accuracy trade-off was observed from pre to post fatigue induction. This study demonstrated that different fatigue states produce different effects on EEG indices. These results have potential applications for developing augmented cognition technologies that deliver appropriate fatigue countermeasures in automated operational environments

Remotely Piloted Aircraft: The impact of audiovisual feedback and workload on operator performance

Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) offer new possibilities to a growing civilian field. However, unlike pilots of conventionally piloted aircraft, the remote pilot operates in a sensory deprived environment. A reduction in available sensory cues present unique human factors challenges, hence the aim of the present study was to understand the impact of real-time auditory feedback from the RPA on operator performance. Experiment 1 tested conventional pilots manually flying a small multi-rotor RPA under two visual operating conditions. Experiment 2 introduced a non-pilot participant group in an automated configuration. Experiment 3 retained the methodology of the second, but presented an adaptable auditory feedback component, with incremental volumes above and below a comfortable sound level. Key findings revealed transitional instances of auditory feedback being perceived as either sound (i.e., useful information, and/or arousing) or noise (i.e., sound that is unwanted), with results broadly aligned with predicted values associated with behavioural models of performance such as the Maximal Adaptability Model. In addition, no statistical significant differences in task performance (automated flight conditions) between the pilot and non-pilot participants were evident. Together, these findings suggest the ability to include or remove the availability of sensory cueing for remote pilots should be dependent on the stage of flight and associated workload. In addition, they raise questions about the restrictions imposed on who is permitted to operate an RPA. Practically, this gives credence to the inclusion of adaptable sensory cueing in future systems. Furthermore, consideration should be given to licensing operators without conventional flying experience for more complex, automated RPAS operations