1,205 research outputs found
Decision Support Design for Workload Mitigation in Human Supervisory Control of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
As UAVs become increasingly autonomous, the multiple personnel currently required to operate
a single UAV may eventually be superseded by a single operator concurrently managing
multiple UAVs. Instead of lower-level tasks performed by todayâs UAV teams, the sole operator
would focus on high-level supervisory control tasks such as monitoring mission timelines and
reacting to emergent mission events. A key challenge in the design of such single-operator
systems will be the need to minimize periods of excessive workload that could arise when
critical tasks for several UAVs occur simultaneously. To a certain degree, it is possible to predict
and mitigate such periods in advance. However, actions that mitigate a particular period of high
workload in the short term may create long term episodes of high workload that were previously
non-existent. Thus some kind of decision support is needed that facilitates an operatorâs ability to
evaluate different options for managing a mission schedule in real-time.
This paper describes two decision support visualizations designed for supervisory control of four
UAVs performing a time-critical targeting mission. A configural display common to both
visualizations, named the StarVis, was designed to highlight potential periods of high workload
corresponding to the current mission timeline, as well as âwhat ifâ projections of possible high
workload periods based upon different operator options. The first visualization design allows an
operator to compare different high workload mitigation options for individual UAVs. This is
termed the local visualization. The second visualization is indicates the combined effects of
multiple high workload mitigation decisions on the timeline. This is termed the global
visualization. The main advantage of the local visualization is that options can be compared
directly; however, the possible effects of these options on the mission timeline are only indicated
for the individual UAV primarily affected by the decision. For the global visualization, different
decisions can be combined to show possible effects on the system propagated across all UAVs,
but the different alternatives of a single decision option alternative cannot be directly compared.
An experiment was conducted testing these visualizations against a control with no visualization.
Results showed that subject using the local visualization had better performance, higher
situational awareness, and no significant increase in workload over the other two experimental
conditions. This occurred despite the fact that the local and global StarVis displays were very
similar. Not only did the Global StarVis produce degraded results as compared to the local
StarVis, but those participants with no visualization performed as well as those with the global
StarVis. This disparity in performance despite strong visual similarities in the StarVis designs is
attributed to operatorsâ inability to process all the information presented in the global StarVis as
well as the fact that participants with the local StarVis were able to rapidly develop effective
cognitive problem strategies. This research effort highlights a very important design
consideration, in that a single decision support design can produce very different performance
results when applied at different levels of abstraction.Prepared for Kevin Burns, The MITRE Corporatio
Quantum Principal Bundles and Corresponding Gauge Theories
A generalization of classical gauge theory is presented, in the framework of
a noncommutative-geometric formalism of quantum principal bundles over smooth
manifolds. Quantum counterparts of classical gauge bundles, and classical gauge
transformations, are introduced and investigated. A natural differential
calculus on quantum gauge bundles is constructed and analyzed. Kinematical and
dynamical properties of corresponding gauge theories are discussed.Comment: 28 pages, AMS-LaTe
The Impact of Intelligent Aiding for Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Schedule Management
There is increasing interest in designing systems such that the current many-to-one ratio of operators to unmanned vehicles (UVs) can be inverted. Instead of lower-level tasks performed by todayâs UV teams, the sole operator would focus on high-level supervisory control tasks. A key challenge in the design of such single-operator systems will be the need to minimize periods of excessive workload that arise when critical tasks for several UVs occur simultaneously. Thus some kind of decision support is needed that facilitates an operatorâs ability to evaluate different action alternatives for managing a multiple UV mission schedule in real-time. This paper describes two decision support experiments that attempted to provide UAV operators with multivariate scheduling assistance, with mixed results. Those automated decision support tools that provided more local, as opposed to global, visual recommendations produced superior performance, suggesting that meta-information displays could saturate operators and reduce performance.This research was sponsored by Boeing Phantom Work and Mitre, Inc
Z-graded differential geometry of quantum plane
In this work, the Z-graded differential geometry of the quantum plane is
constructed. The corresponding quantum Lie algebra and its Hopf algebra
structure are obtained. The dual algebra, i.e. universal enveloping algebra of
the quantum plane is explicitly constructed and an isomorphism between the
quantum Lie algebra and the dual algebra is given.Comment: 17 page
Modified Cooper Harper Scales for Assessing Unmanned Vehicle Displays
In unmanned vehicle (UV) operations, displays are often the only information link between
operators and vehicles. It is essential these displays present information clearly and efficiently so that
operators can interact with the UVs to achieve mission objectives. While there are a variety of metrics to
evaluate displays, there is no current standardized methodology for operators to subjectively assess a
displayâs support and identify specific deficiencies. Such a methodology could improve current displays
and ensure that displays under development support operator processes. This report presents a quasi-
subjective display evaluation tool called the Modified Cooper-Harper for Unmanned Vehicle Displays
(MCH-UVD) diagnosis tool. This tool, adapted from the Cooper-Harper aircraft handling scale, allows
operators to assess a display, translating their judgments on potential display shortcomings into a number
corresponding to a particular deficiency in operator support. The General MCH-UVD can be used to
diagnose deficiencies for any UV display, while the Specific MCH-UVD is UV and mission specific in its
evaluation of displays. This report presents the General MCH-UVD and provides guidance on how to
adapt it to create a Specific MCH-UVD through the use of UV mission taxonomies and a questioning
method. A UGV search mission case study provides a how-to guide example for generating a Specific
MCH-UVD. The report also presents an experiment conducted to validate the MCH-UVD and assess if a
mission-specific version is necessary, or if the general form of the MCH-UVD is sufficient for different UV
display evaluation. The report concludes with discussion on how to administer the scale, when a Specific
scale is necessary, MCH-UVD diagnosis tool limitations, and future work.Prepared for US Army Aberdeen Testing Cente
Lattice Gauge Theory
We reformulate the Hamiltonian approach to lattice gauge theories such that,
at the classical level, the gauge group does not act canonically, but instead
as a Poisson-Lie group. At the quantum level, it then gets promoted to a
quantum group gauge symmetry. The theory depends on two parameters - the
deformation parameter and the lattice spacing . We show that the
system of Kogut and Susskind is recovered when , while
QCD is recovered in the continuum limit (for any ). We thus have the
possibility of having a two parameter regularization of QCD.Comment: 26 pages, LATEX fil
Controls on Dissolved Silicon Isotopes along the US GEOTRACES Eastern Pacific Zonal Transect (GP16)
The distribution of dissolved silicon isotopes (Ύ30Si) was examined along the US GEOTRACES East Pacific Zonal Transect (GP16) extending from Peru to Tahiti (10°S and 15°S latitude).
Surface waters in the subtropical gyre displayed high ÎŽ30Si due to strong utilization of silicic acid (DSi). In contrast, surface waters close to the Peruvian coast where upwelling prevailed were less depleted and only moderately fractionated. ÎŽ30Si of water masses along the transect were compared with the results of an Optimum Multiparameter Analysis that quantified the fractional contributions of endmember water masses in each sample. Strong admixture of intermediate waters obscured the expected heavy isotopic signatures of Subantarctic Mode Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water. Isotope values were nearly homogenous below 2000 m (Average: +1.3 ± 0.1 â°, 1 s.d.) despite the 25 ÎŒmol kgâ1 range in the DSi content among water masses. This homogeneity confirms prior observations and model results that predict nearly constant ÎŽ30Si values of +1.0 to +1.2 â° for Pacific deep waters with [DSi] > 100 ÎŒmol kgâ1.
Waters above the East Pacific Rise (EPR) influenced by hydrothermal activity showed a small increase in [DSi] together with dissolved iron, but overall stations close to the EPR were slightly depleted in [DSi] (3 to 6 ÎŒmol kgâ1) with no significant shift in ÎŽ30Si compared to adjacent waters. Hydrothermal [DSi] appears to precipitate within the conduit of the EPR or upon contact with cold seawater resulting in a negligible influence of hydrothermal fluids on ÎŽ30Si in deep water.
Key Points
Surface waters have a large range in dissolved silicon isotopes covering nutrientârich coastal upwelling to oligotrophic waters
Deep water masses with DSi concentrations > 100 ÎŒmol kgâ1 show homogenous silicon isotope signatures despite up to 25 ÎŒmol kgâ1 differences in [DSi]
Hydrothermal fluids have a negligible effect on Si isotope distributions in the deep Pacifi
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