Human-machine cooperation: a solution for life-critical systems?

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Systems Engineering
• Cognitive Systems

Background:

• Decision-making is crucial in life-critical systems, involving monitoring, fault prevention, and recovery.
• Human contributions are dual: positive (handling the unexpected) and negative (prone to errors).
• Existing approaches focus on either error resistance (supervising humans) or error tolerance (human-system cooperation).

Purpose of the Study:

• To reconcile the 'human-as-problem' and 'human-as-solution' views in system design.
• To propose a joint human-machine organization framework.
• To address safety and complexity in cooperative and fault-tolerant systems.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on human roles in critical systems.
• Conceptual framework development for human-machine organization.
• Case study illustration using Air Traffic Control (ATC).

Main Results:

• A reconciled approach considers both human error potential and unique human capabilities.
• The proposed framework integrates safety and complexity as key factors.
• Function allocation between humans and systems is essential for real-world scenarios.

Conclusions:

• A joint human-machine organization can enhance safety and efficiency in critical systems.
• The framework supports cooperative and fault-tolerant system design.
• Effective function allocation is vital, especially under time constraints and in hazardous environments.