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Meeting	ACGS Committee Meeting 100 - Cocoa Beach - October 2007
Agenda Location	5 SUBCOMMITTEE D--DYNAMICS, COMPUTATIONS AND ANALYSIS 5.1 Application of Cognitive Engineering to UAV Operations
Title	Application of Cognitive Engineering to UAV Operations
Presenter	Amy Pritchett
Affiliation	Georgia Tech
Available Downloads*	presentation
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Abstract	Designing for UAV systems presents novel challenges, including design of autonomous capabilities that can still interact with and be monitored by human operators, integration into the National Airspace System (NAS), and creation of operational procedures and ground control station interfaces that are robust to a range of UAV platforms and missions. These challenges are more difficult than cognitive engineering concerns with flight deck design for three reasons: (1) the human operator, while ultimately responsible for the safe operation of the UAV, is now distal from the vehicle; (2) many UAVs have new autonomous capabilities which can be more difficult for the human operator to comprehend and supervise; and (3) unlike flight deck standards such as the ‘Basic T’ layout of primary flight displays, UAV systems do not have widespread standards, conventions and operating procedures as a starting point for design. I will first argue that the key attribute of ‘autonomy’ is the ability to perform a function, no matter how simple or complex, without requiring supervision; this typically requires the UAV to be able to report to the operator when it can not perform the function. The next topic in this presentation will be the attributes of autonomous behaviors that can be easily comprehended and supervised by human operators. Results from flight deck design will be used to illustrate how rarely-seen behaviors, and behaviors that do not mirror the operators’ other activities (e.g., interaction with air traffic control or command and control), will likely lead to confusion. Likewise, UAV systems that provide functions conformally mapping to the language and processes of their operators can be easily and fluidly operated. Building on these insights, the presentation will conclude by reviewing systematic design methods for creating a coherent set of operating procedures, automatic functions and operator interfaces. The results of a simulation experiment indicate that UAV controllers using coherently designed elements achieve significantly higher mission performance and experience lower workloads than those that when using incoherently matched elements.