226 research outputs found
An Analysis of Heterogeneity in Futuristic Unmanned Vehicle Systems
Recent studies have shown that with appropriate operator decision support and with enough automation aboard
unmanned vehicles, inverting the multiple operators to single-vehicle control paradigm is possible. These studies,
however, have generally focused on homogeneous teams of vehicles, and have not completely addressed either the
manifestation of heterogeneity in vehicle teams, or the effects of heterogeneity on operator capacity. An important
implication of heterogeneity in unmanned vehicle teams is an increase in the diversity of possible team
configurations available for each operator, as well as an increase in the diversity of possible attention allocation
schemes that can be utilized by operators. To this end, this paper introduces a resource allocation framework that
defines the strategies and processes that lead to alternate team configurations. The framework also highlights the
sub-components of operator attention allocation schemes that can impact overall performance when supervising
heterogeneous unmanned vehicle teams. A subsequent discrete event simulation model of a single operator
supervising multiple heterogeneous vehicles and tasks explores operator performance under different heterogeneous
team compositions and varying attention allocation strategies. Results from the discrete event simulation model
show that the change in performance when switching from a homogeneous team to a heterogeneous one is highly
dependent on the change in operator utilization. Heterogeneous teams that result in lower operator utilization can
lead to improved performance under certain operator strategies.Prepared for Charles River Analytic
Audio Decision Support for Supervisory Control of Unmanned Vehicles : Literature Review
Purpose of this literature review:
To survey scholarly articles, books and other sources (dissertations, conference
proceedings) relevant to the use of the audio
supervisory control of unmanned vehicles.Prepared for Charles River Analytic
Information Requirements for MCM and ISR Missions : PUMA Phase II
This document contains display requirements for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) control
station displays to be used by unmanned vehicle units in support of heterogeneous
unmanned vehicle missions (such as Special Operations Force (SOF) insertion). The
method used for generating the requirements was that of a Hybrid Cognitive Task
Analysis (CTA)1 which entails describing a scenario overview of a representative
mission, generating event flow diagrams, and depicting decision ladders for the key
decisions identified in the event flow diagrams. These steps are then used together to
generate an informational requirements summary which includes the situational
awareness requirements that are derived from the event flow and display requirements of
the decision ladders. This method was developed in Phase I of the PUMA (Plan
Understanding for Mixed-initiative control of Autonomous systems) project2. In PUMA
I, the mission scenario primarily consisted of Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (ISR) tasks. For PUMA II, the scenario has been expanded to include
Mine Counter Measures (MCM), Harbor Bottom Image-Mapping (HBI), and Anti-
Terrorism / Force Protection (AT/FP) mission types. There is a specific emphasis on the
MCM and ISR missions to highlight the informational requirement differences between
the two task types. This document incorporates the expanded vehicle and mission type
heterogeneities that are present in PUMA II in order to develop a cohesive set of
informational requirements necessary for such a complex mission.Prepared for Charles River Analytic
A UAV Mission Hierarchy
In the following sections, each of the primary missions are decomposed into mission planning, management, and replanning segments in order to identify
what the primary functions a human operator will need to perform. The goal is to understand what tasks/functions are common across different UAV
missions and platforms in order to map the generalizability of any particular research project.Prepared for Charles River Analytic
The Impact of Heterogeneity on Operator Performance in Future Unmanned Vehicle Systems
Recent studies have shown that with appropriate operator decision support
and with sufficient automation, inverting the multiple operators to
single-unmanned vehicle control paradigm is possible. These studies,
however, have generally focused on homogeneous teams of vehicles, and
have not completely addressed either the manifestation of heterogeneity
in vehicle teams, or the effects of heterogeneity on operator capacity.
An important implication of heterogeneity in unmanned vehicle teams
is an increase in the diversity of possible team configurations available
for each operator, as well as an increase in the diversity of possible attention
allocation schemes that can be utilized by operators. To this end, this
paper introduces a discrete event simulation (DES) model as a means to
model a single operator supervising multiple heterogeneous unmanned
vehicles. The DES model can be used to understand the impact of varying
both vehicle team design variables (such as team composition) and
operator design variables (including attention allocation strategies). The
model also highlights the sub-components of operator attention allocation
schemes that can impact overall performance when supervising heterogeneous unmanned vehicle teams. Results from an experimental case study are then used to validate the model, and make predictions about operator performance for various heterogeneous team configurations.The research was supported by Charles River Analytics, the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and MIT Lincoln Laboratory
One Work Analysis, Two Domains: A Display Information Requirements Case Study
Work domain analyses can be time consuming, requiring extensive interviews, documentation review, and observations, among other techniques. Given the time and resources required, we examine how to generalize a work domain analysis technique, namely the hybrid Cognitive Task Analysis (hCTA) method across two domains in order to generate a common set of display information requirements. The two domains of interest are field workers troubleshooting low voltage distribution networks and telecommunication problems. Results show that there is a high degree of similarity between the two domains due to their service call nature, particularly in tasking and decision-making. While the primary differences were due to communication protocols and equipment requirements, the basic overall mission goals, functions, phases of operation, decision processes, and situation requirements were very similar. A final design for both domains is proposed based on the joint requirements
CICLAD: A Fast and Memory-efficient Closed Itemset Miner for Streams
Mining association rules from data streams is a challenging task due to the
(typically) limited resources available vs. the large size of the result.
Frequent closed itemsets (FCI) enable an efficient first step, yet current FCI
stream miners are not optimal on resource consumption, e.g. they store a large
number of extra itemsets at an additional cost. In a search for a better
storage-efficiency trade-off, we designed Ciclad,an intersection-based
sliding-window FCI miner. Leveraging in-depth insights into FCI evolution, it
combines minimal storage with quick access. Experimental results indicate
Ciclad's memory imprint is much lower and its performances globally better than
competitor methods.Comment: KDD2
Development and Evaluation of a Trapping System for Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the United States
Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), commonly known as the Asian longhorned beetle, is an invasive wood-boring pest that infests a number of hardwood species and causes considerable economic losses in North America, several countries in Europe, and in its native range in Asia. The success of eradication efforts may depend on early detection of introduced populations; however, detection has been limited to identification of tree damage (oviposition pits and exit holes), and the serendipitous collection of adults, often by members of the public. Here we describe the development, deployment, and evaluation of semiochemical-baited traps in the greater Worcester area in Massachusetts. Over 4 yr of trap evaluation (2009-2012), 1013 intercept panel traps were deployed, 876 of which were baited with three different families of lures. The families included lures exhibiting different rates of release of the male-produced A. glabripennis pheromone, lures with various combinations of plant volatiles, and lures with both the pheromone and plant volatiles combined. Overall, 45 individual beetles were captured in 40 different traps. Beetles were found only in traps with lures. In several cases, trap catches led to the more rapid discovery and management of previously unknown areas of infestation in the Worcester county regulated area. Analysis of the spatial distribution of traps and the known infested trees within the regulated area provides an estimate of the relationship between trap catch and beetle pressure exerted on the traps. Studies continue to optimize lure composition and trap placemen
Regions of High Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Incidence and Low Bystander CPR Rates in Victoria, Australia
BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a major public health issue and research has shown that large regional variation in outcomes exists. Of the interventions associated with survival, the provision of bystander CPR is one of the most important modifiable factors. The aim of this study is to identify census areas with high incidence of OHCA and low rates of bystander CPR in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: We conducted an observational study using prospectively collected population-based OHCA data from the state of Victoria in Australia. Using ArcGIS (ArcMap 10.0), we linked the location of the arrest using the dispatch coordinates (longitude and latitude) to Victorian Local Government Areas (LGAs). We used Bayesian hierarchical models with random effects on each LGA to provide shrunken estimates of the rates of bystander CPR and the incidence rates. RESULTS: Over the study period there were 31,019 adult OHCA attended, of which 21,436 (69.1%) cases were of presumed cardiac etiology. Significant variation in the incidence of OHCA among LGAs was observed. There was a 3 fold difference in the incidence rate between the lowest and highest LGAs, ranging from 38.5 to 115.1 cases per 100,000 person-years. The overall rate of bystander CPR for bystander witnessed OHCAs was 62.4%, with the rate increasing from 56.4% in 2008-2010 to 68.6% in 2010-2013. There was a 25.1% absolute difference in bystander CPR rates between the highest and lowest LGAs. CONCLUSION: Significant regional variation in OHCA incidence and bystander CPR rates exists throughout Victoria. Regions with high incidence and low bystander CPR participation can be identified and would make suitable targets for interventions to improve CPR participation rates
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