Supervising and Controlling Unmanned Systems: A Multi-Phase Study with Subject Matter Experts

Area of Science:

• Human Factors Engineering
• Cognitive Systems Engineering
• Human-System Interaction

Background:

• Increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) in civil and military sectors presents significant human factors challenges.
• Key challenges include operator training gaps and effective data presentation for complex operations.
• Research focus has evolved from single-operator capacity to efficient multi-operator, multi-UAS (MOMU) mission distribution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the optimal number of UASs a single operator can effectively supervise and control.
• To compare the performance of single operators versus teams in managing multiple UASs.
• To inform the design of tools supporting teamwork in MOMU environments.

Main Methods:

• Employed Design Research Methodology (DRM) with subject matter experts (SMEs).
• Conducted studies to establish the modal number of UASs per operator (supervision vs. control).
• Compared single-operator performance against team performance for equivalent UAS numbers.

Main Results:

• An experienced operator can efficiently supervise up to 15 UASs with moderate automation.
• Single operators can effectively control (mission/payload management) up to three UASs.
• Teams generally demonstrated superior performance compared to single operators managing the same number of UASs.

Conclusions:

• Design efforts should prioritize tools for MOMU teamwork environments.
• Single operators may have an advantage in highly specific MOMU scenarios (similar tasks, overlapping areas).
• Teams are generally more advantageous in diverse MOMU operational contexts, necessitating collaborative support systems.