Multi-Dimensional Human Workload Assessment for Supervisory Human–Machine Teams

Abstract

Humans commanding and monitoring robots’ actions are used in various high-stress environments, such as the Predator or MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles. The presence of stress and potential costly mistakes in these environments places considerable demands and workload on the human supervisors, which can reduce task performance. Performance may be augmented by implementing an adaptive workload human–machine teaming system that is capable of adjusting based on a human’s workload state. Such a teaming system requires a human workload assessment algorithm capable of estimating workload along multiple dimensions. A multi-dimensional algorithm that estimates workload in a supervisory environment is presented. The algorithm performs well in emulated real-world environments and generalizes across similar workload conditions and populations. This algorithm is a critical component for developing an adaptive human–robot teaming system that can adapt its interactions and intelligently (re-)allocate tasks in dynamic domains.