Intelligent Adaptive Interfaces: Summary Report on Design, Development, and Evaluation of Intelligent Adaptive Interfaces for the Control of Multiple UAVs from an Airborne Platform

An absence of guidance on designing complex, dynamic, and networked systems presents challenges to the design of such systems to maximize overall human-machine system performance. An Intelligent Adaptive Interface (IAI) concept and associated technologies have been developed to address this problem. A typical IAI is driven by software agents that can change the display and /or control characteristics to react to the changes of mission and operator states in real time. The work reported here is the result of the two final phases of a three-year project conducted by DRDC Toronto. This project investigated the efficacy of IAIs in a multi-Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) scenario. The IAI was modelled as part of the UAV tactical workstations found in a maritime patrol aircraft. In the first phase of the project, a performance model was developed to compare the difference in mission activities with and without IAI agent aids. The simulation results revealed that the control of multiple UAVs is a cognitively complex task with high workload. With the augmentation of automation agents, operators could continue working under high time pressure, resulting in critical tasks being achieved in reduced time. To further test the effectiveness of IAIs and validate the simulation results, a prototype IAI multiagent experimental environment was implemented for an empirical study. Six IAI agent function groups have been integrated into the UAV operator interfaces. Operator's performance was examined with and without IAIs under three different workload conditions. The results from both objective and subjective measures verified the findings of the simulation research. IAIs facilitated a significant reduction in workload and an improvement in situation awareness. This research also developed preliminary guidance on designing IAI systems.

Prepared in collaboration with CMC Electronics Inc., Ottawa, Canada. The original document contains color images.