Assessing operator psychological states and performance in UAS operations

Abstract

Assessment for understanding, predicting, and improving human performance and system design is a key for human-computer interaction (HCI) research. Assessments can be behavioral, physiological, performance-based, and phenomenological. Assessments are important in a variety of domains, including unmanned vehicle operations, human-robot teaming, nuclear power plant operations, etc. This paper will discuss assessment approaches in the domain of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations to identify and quantify explanatory constructs, such as psychological states, workload, and performance. It will also discuss implications for evaluating improvements in human performance in UAS operations. Specifically, this paper will examine metrics that can be utilized to gauge the impact of demand factors on workload, task performance, operator dependence on automation, and stress response.