Human automation integration

Many versions of future concept of operations (CONOPS) rely heavily on UMVs. The pressure to take the human out of immediate control of these vehicles is being driven by several factors. These factors include a reduction in cost for the production and maintenance of the vehicle, operational viability in extreme environments, and the public pressure to keep soldiers further away from immediate harm. In addition to adding more UMVs, there is also a push to have these vehicles perform more complex tasks than they are currently required to perform. These two factors, adding more UMVs and having them perform more complex tasks, will not be realized without augmenting the current structure of control. One way to achieve this augmentation is through the utilization of automation. The automation may be applied on the vehicle itself, through the interface controlling the vehicle, through system design or in any amalgamation of these approaches. Automation, if applied in a responsible and judicious manner, will enable the acquisition of capabilities that will be required to operate under near and far-term CONOPS.
The focus of this chapter is the discuss in of the past, present and future automation integration challenges that are faced when adopting a human centric design philosophy. Topics will include the identification and discussion of specific problematic areas that have evolved and will bring to bear the lessons learned as automation was integrated into other domains such as flight operations, air traffic control, and process control
for example. The lessons learned may not signify that a particular problem area has been “solved”, but may point out that the area deserves consideration when evaluating trade-offs in the system design and engineering process. The anecdotal, operational, theoretical and empirical work completed thus far all provide a sound foundation that should serve as a starting point for human automation integration in the UMV domain.
This domain may have specific challenges or specific opportunities available, both now and in the future, to explore and expand the base of human and automation integration knowledge. The remainder of this introduction will focus on some of the more salient areas in the integration problem space. These topics and others will be addressed in various sections throughout the chapter.