Increasing the transparency of unmanned systems: Applications of ecological interface design

Abstract

This paper describes ongoing efforts to address the challenges of supervising teams of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles through the use of demonstrated Ecological Interface Design (EID) principles. We first review the EID framework and discuss how we have applied it to the unmanned systems domain. Then, drawing from specific interface examples, we present several generalizable design strategies for improved supervisory control displays. We discuss how ecological display techniques can be used to increase the transparency and observability of highly automated unmanned systems by enabling operators to efficiently perceive and reason about automated support outcomes and purposefully direct system behavior. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.