Work domain modeling of human-automation interaction for in-vehicle automation

Automated driving systems are deployed on public roads with little empirical support for the dominant justifications of enhanced safety and enhanced productivity. Furthermore, development of automated driving systems has been piecemeal rather than systematic while research on driver-automation interaction has relied on individual analysis of accidents and on observational studies of driving behavior in a simulator or on the road. In this paper, we apply Work Domain Analysis to develop a more systematic and comprehensive model of automated driving. We use a strategy of layering the driving automation onto the resulting Abstraction-Decomposition Space for manual driving to mimic the existing design strategy of introducing automation to take over driving functions previously the responsibility of the human driver. Our analysis shows that automation does not unequivocally supports dominant driving values. Furthermore, our analysis revealed subtle interdependencies between human and technological functions. We conclude that an Abstraction Decomposition Space offers a systematic view of driver-automation interaction that can suggest new insights for automation design.</p

Cognitive systems and communication

a b s t r a c t A cognitive system is a thinking (or intelligent) information system. However, the enhanced intelligence is not generated by the activity of intelligent technological functions but emerges from the coordinated collaboration of distributed human agents via their interactions with each other and with functionally heterogeneous technological artifacts. The robustness of a cognitive system is due to the manner in which the human participants in the system integrate their activities

An ecological theory of learning transfer in human activity

All theoretical approaches to learning transfer assume some form of similarity. Behavioral science has, however, conceptualised similarity in superficial terms. Furthermore, no transfer theory has been developed to account for the full range of skills deployed in operational or intellectual activities. Dynamical systems theory is, at its core, a similarity theory. We leverage from a dynamical systems account of human activity to outline a theory of transfer that views repeatable patterns of behavior as macroscale properties that emerge from interactions between microscale processes of perception, cognition, and action. Dynamic coordination’s constitute solutions to goal directed activity and as such, must be tuned to the affordance structure of the situation and to the capabilities of the agent. Learning transfer, defined as improved performance on a criterion activity from prior experience on another activity, is contingent on improved detection and use of crucial affordances because of that prior experience. We bring together arguments relating to similarity, behavioral dynamics, affordances, learning, and analysis at both macroscales and microscales to identify potentially transferable elements of authentic, multifaceted activities that demand an appreciable level of skill.</p

Vertical flight training: An overview of training and flight simulator technology with emphasis on rotary-wing requirements

The principal purpose of this publication is to provide a broad overview of the technology that is relevant to the design of aviation training systems and of the techniques applicable to the development, use, and evaluation of those systems. The issues addressed in our 11 chapters are, for the most part, those that would be expected to surface in any informed discussion of the major characterizing elements of aviation training systems. Indeed, many of the same facets of vertical-flight training discussed were recognized and, to some extent, dealt with at the 1991 NASA/FAA Helicopter Simulator Workshop. These generic topics are essential to a sound understanding of training and training systems, and they quite properly form the basis of any attempt to systematize the development and evaluation of more effective, more efficient, more productive, and more economical approaches to aircrew training. Individual chapters address the following topics: an overview of the vertical flight industry: the source of training requirements; training and training schools: meeting current requirements; training systems design and development; transfer of training and cost-effectiveness; the military quest for flight training effectiveness; alternative training systems; training device manufacturing; simulator aero model implementation; simulation validation in the frequency domain; cockpit motion in helicopter simulation; and visual space perception in flight simulators

Workspace Visualization for Planning of Air Operations

Information overload has become a critical challenge within military operations. However, the problem is not so much one of too much information but of abundant information that is poorly organized and poorly represented. Here I describe a prototype information-action workspace, sometimes referred to as a knowledge visualization, to resolve this issue. Development proceeded through a systematic design sequence of cognitive analysis, knowledge representation and workspace design. The cognitive analysis focused on the specific information needed to support military planning and judgment. The workspace was structured in terms of dimensions of functional abstraction and functional decomposition; dimensions that are thought to characterize the fundamental structure of cognitive work. The products of a Cognitive Work Analysis were integrated with insights drawn from operational and scientific literature to develop a prototype workspace. Here I outline some of the features of the prototype workspace

The Mystery of Distributed Learning

There are contrasting opinions about the value of distributed learning. Several textbooks on general training issues promote it as an effective training strategy while many researchers who have focused specifically on this topic argue that distributed practice is no more effective than non-distributed practice. It is noteworthy that most who promote distributed learning base their opinion on belief rather than on experimental research while most who argue that it is of no value base their opinions on empirical data restricted primarily to the learning of simple motor skills. Additionally, much of the distributed learning research has employed the experimentally convenient manipulation of distributing learning trials whereas, from a practical perspective, the distribution of sessions would offer a more relevant experimental manipulation. In this paper, I explore the insights that can be gleaned from research that has focused on operationally relevant tasks and in which learning sessions have been distributed

Transfer of Landing Skill after Training with Supplementary Visual Cues

An aircraft simulator with a closed-loop computer-generated visual display, was used to teach flight-naive subjects to land. A control training condition in which subjects learned to land with reference to a skeletal airport scene consisting of a horizon, runway, centerline, and aiming bar, was tested against training with constantly augmented feedback, adaptively augmented feedback, and a flightpath tracking display. A simulator-to-simulator transfer-of-training design showed that adaptively trained subjects performed best in a transfer task that was identical to the control group's training condition. Several subjects attempted six landings in a light airplane after they had completed their experimental work in the simulator. They performed better than another group of subjects that had not had any landing practice in the simulator. </jats:p