Human Research and Engineering Directorate Research Areas

Enhancing Performance of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) Teams

Advisor: Cosenzo, Keryl A.  (keryl.cosenzo@us.army.mil     410.278.5885)

Location: Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-5425

Key words: Human-robot interaction; supervisory control Human performance; Workload; Unmanned systems; Situation awareness;

Military operations depend more and more on an array of unmanned technology ranging from ground vehicles, air vehicles, sensors, and microsystems. The inclusion of unmanned systems, information networks, and advanced sensor suites, are intended to enhance operational performance and Soldier safety. However, the implications of these technologies for human use are not always fully understood nor are they always considered during design. The Soldier’s role for interaction with unmanned systems is broad ranging from robot operator, through information manager, to information consumer. The goal of our HRI program is to maximize the effectiveness of integrating unmanned technology into the Soldier team through the development of state-of-the-art Soldier-system interactions. We seek to identify tools, techniques, and measures that can be used to improve and assess performance with unmanned systems across multiple environments. Specific issues to be addressed include: unmanned and manned vehicle autonomy, intuitive communications and interfaces, supervisory control, teaming, situation awareness, and strategies for workload management. ARL-HRED is currently conducting research on human-robot interaction (HRI) at Aberdeen Proving Ground. MD. Research environments for this research include laboratory, simulation, and field environments.

References:
Barnes, M., Jentsch, F., Chen, Y., Haas, E., & Cosenzo, K. (2008). Five Things You Should Know About Soldier –Robot Teaming. Proceedings of the 26th Army Science Conference, Orlando, FL, CD-ROM.

Chen, J. Y. C., Haas, E. C. & Barnes, M. J. ( 2007). Human Performance Issues and User Interface Design for Teleoperated Robots. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics--Part C: Applications and Reviews, vol. 37, no. 6, 1231-1245.      

Parasuraman, R., Barnes, M., & Cosenzo, K. (2007). Adaptive automation for human robt teaming in future command and control systems.  International Journal of Command and Control, 1(2), 43-68