The applications and studies I conduct on this topic are primarily related to the use of small displays and utilization of information from unmanned vehicles by dismounted operators. In this area I focus on the following aspects:
- Interaction between man and automated systems
- Task performance and Mission dependency
- Workload
- Subjective preferences
- Command and control
I started with looking primarily at various display devices –
- Hand held displays (HHDs) i.e., small screens 6-7″ and PDAs (3-4″)
- Head mounted displays (HMDs)
- Hand held monocular displays (HHMDs)
Then moved more into studying the content of the display itself, e.g., what is the benefit of having multiple video feeds at the same time.
We are now looking at:
- coordination and bi-directional communication between the dismounted soldiers and the unmanned vehicle (or its operators)
- reliability of alerts driven by the unmanned sources and how this impacts the dismounted soldiers performance
- use of tactile alerts to inform the soldier of critical information
Another line of research is geared toward UAV operators in Multi-Operator Multi-UAV MOMU environments. Here the challenge is to find means that will enhance the ability of operators to share assets without losing performance (see for example this post).
Human Factors Engineering 