Assessing the impact of low workload in supervisory control of networked unmanned vehicles

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. )122-126.This research investigated the effects of prolonged low workload on operator performance in the context of controlling a network of unmanned vehicles (UxVs) in a search, track, and destroy mission with the assistance of an automated planner. In addition, this research focused on assessing the physical, social, and cognitive coping mechanisms that operators rely upon during prolonged low workload missions. An experiment was conducted to collect data for researching the impact of low workload in human supervisory control of networked, heterogeneous UxVs. This research showed that performance was not necessarily affected at the low end of the workload spectrum, especially in the context of human supervisory control of networked UxVs. Given varying levels of low taskload, operators tended to gravitate toward a common total utilization (percent busy time) that was well above the required utilization. The boredom due to the low taskload environment caused operators to spend the majority of their time distracted; to a lesser degree, operators were more directed than divided in terms of attention. More directed attention predicted higher operator performance, especially in the tracking portion of the mission. Higher utilization predicted improved operator performance in search and destroy tasks, but hindered the automation's ability to track targets. Video gaming experience was a detriment to destroying hostile targets in this long duration, low workload mission involving human supervisory control of networked UxVs. Vigilance, shown by a decrement in amount of directed attention per hour, decreased over the course of the mission duration. Top performers had higher directed attention and coped with the boredom through extreme focus or use of switching times to stay engaged in the mission. In comparison to a moderate workload study, participants in this low workload experiment performed both better and worse. Low workload did not necessarily cause a drop in operator performance.by Christin S. Hart.S.M

The Role of Human-Automation Consensus in Multiple Unmanned Vehicle Scheduling

Objective: This study examined the impact of increasing automation replanning rates on operator performance and workload when supervising a decentralized network of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles. Background: Futuristic unmanned vehicles systems will invert the operator-to-vehicle ratio so that one operator can control multiple dissimilar vehicles connected through a decentralized network. Significant human-automation collaboration will be needed because of automation brittleness, but such collaboration could cause high workload. Method: Three increasing levels of replanning were tested on an existing multiple unmanned vehicle simulation environment that leverages decentralized algorithms for vehicle routing and task allocation in conjunction with human supervision. Results: Rapid replanning can cause high operator workload, ultimately resulting in poorer overall system performance. Poor performance was associated with a lack of operator consensus for when to accept the automation’s suggested prompts for new plan consideration as well as negative attitudes toward unmanned aerial vehicles in general. Participants with video game experience tended to collaborate more with the automation, which resulted in better performance. Conclusion: In decentralized unmanned vehicle networks, operators who ignore the automation’s requests for new plan consideration and impose rapid replans both increase their own workload and reduce the ability of the vehicle network to operate at its maximum capacity. Application: These findings have implications for personnel selection and training for futuristic systems involving human collaboration with decentralized algorithms embedded in networks of autonomous systems.Aurora Flight Sciences Corp.United States. Office of Naval Researc

Understanding Relations Among Children\u27s Shy and Antisocial/Aggressive Behaviors and Mothers\u27 Parenting: The Role of Maternal Beliefs

This study assesses the relationships between children\u27s shy and antisocial/aggressive behaviors and maternal beliefs, and concomitant parenting behaviors. Structural equation models examined 199 mothers\u27 perceptions of aggression and shyness in their preschool-age children (average age = 59.63 months); maternal beliefs (i.e., locus of control, perceived harm, efficacy) about shyness and aggression, respectively; and maternal reported parenting behaviors (i.e., authoritarian, authoritative, permissive). Results suggest both shyness and aggression are negatively associated with maternal efficacy in dealing with shy and aggressive behavior. Lower levels of parenting efficacy beliefs in dealing with child aggression are related to greater levels of authoritarian parenting and less easygoing parenting behavior. Further, child aggression is related to multiple maternal beliefs (e.g., perceived harm, efficacy), whereas child shyness is related only to efficacy beliefs. Taken together, our findings suggest that aggression, though not shyness, may relate to mothers\u27 parenting through associations with maternal beliefs. Findings extend our understanding of the child\u27s role in contributing to the socialization environment associated with maternal beliefs and behaviors