Research Assignment: UAS GCS Human Factors Issue

Gabriel P. Riccio

ASCI 638 Human Factors in Unmanned Systems

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide

17 January 2018

Introduction

            The primary purpose of the unmanned aerial system (UAS) ground control station (GCS) is to provide the interface between the human in-the-loop and the air vehicle; its complexity is dependent on the overall UAS command, control, and communication requirements (Austin, 2010).  The GCS could be a simple hand-held device from which the operator does mission planning, then executes the mission or part of a sophisticated network-centric system architecture (Austin, 2010).  No matter how the GCS is designed and engineered it must be functional, not only from the perspective of the air vehicle but from the perspective of the operator. The GCS design must consider both human factors and pilot ergonomics.  Currently, most UAS GCSs are responsible for the operation of only one air vehicle at a time.  As UAS gain greater autonomy and develop greater interoperability capabilities it is likely that the GCS operator will be able to effectively control a multitude of unmanned air vehicles at any given time (Bhalla, 2015). 

Multi-UAS GCS

            The paper titled “A Ground Control Station for a Multi-UAV Surveillance System: Design and Validation in Field Experiments” by D. Perez, I. Maza, F. Caballero, D. Scarlatti, E. Casado, A. & Ollero (2013) examines a GCS that was designed for an operator to simultaneously manage multiple small UAS (sUAS) at any given time for the purpose of surveillance missions.  The primary design goal was to reduce the workload of the pilot who directly supervises multiple unmanned air vehicles that coordinate and interact with one another to a manageable level by simplifying GCS command and control functionality (Perez, Maza, Caballero, Scarlatti, Casado, & Ollero, 2013).  During the GCS design process, several necessary attributes were identified:

·         The GCS is capable of autonomously knowing when an air vehicle enters or departs the environment.

·         The GCS has built-in visual alerts to inform the pilot of any system advisories such as a low battery or cautions associated with malfunctioning equipment.

·         The GCS gives the operator the capability to display air vehicle status; the operator gets to choose what vehicles and the number of vehicles; to prevent information overload but maintain situational awareness.

·         The air vehicles themselves in this scenario possess some decisional autonomy, which do not require constant direct supervision (Perez et al., 2013).

The hardware that makes up the GCS is a mobile laptop computer that communicates to the air vehicles via a wireless local area network (WLAN) and router (Perez et al., 2013).  During testing of the GCS, the researchers used two additional laptops for improved platform supervision; two platforms were used during testing but it must be noted that a single computer with its associated software is capable of managing all aircraft (Perez et al., 2013).  The computer screen layout of the GCS has four main areas: an air vehicles selector, selected air vehicle information, interactive map, and application widgets (Perez et al., 2013).

            The researchers’ concluded that the GCS system architecture proved to be capable of command, control, and effective communication with multiple sUAS conducting surveillance missions. The GCS also worked well with the autonomous features integrated into the air vehicles (Perez et al., 2013).  In the future, the researchers’ hope to locate the GCS to a remote location and control all activities via the internet (Perez et al., 2013).

Negative Human Factors

            Two negative human factors issues can be associated with this GCS.  The first is the potential for information overload which could potentially confuse the operator or cause them to make a poor decision.  When everything is working, operator workload is low, this is mostly due to the autonomous behaviors of the individual platforms.  If the operator has to manage more than one problem at a time, they could easily become distracted and lose mission situational awareness.  The second issue is information overload.  A single operator could easily become task saturated trying to monitor several sUAS, especially during a surveillance mission and may have difficulty prioritizing the work.  During field testing experiments, only two sUAS were utilized but there is most likely is a point in which one single GCS operator can manage so many sUAS at any given time while still carrying out the mission.  As in manned aircraft, system failures and emergencies can easily overwhelm the pilot or pilots.  It is important to ensure each mission has the appropriate number of fully trained pilots and support personnel.

References

Austin, R. (2010). Unmanned aircraft systems: uavs design, development and deployment. Chichester: Wiley. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/lib/erau/detail.action?docID=514439

Bhalla, P. (2015). Emerging trends in unmanned aerial systems. Scholar Warrior, Autumn 2015, 86-94. Retrieved from www.claws.in/images/journals_doc/1119543205_Emergingtrendsinunmannedaerialsystems.pdf

Perez, D., Maza, I., Caballero, F., Scarlatti, D., Casado, E., & Ollero, A. (2013). A ground control station for a multi-UAV surveillance system: Design and validation in field experiments. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 69(1), 119-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10846-012-9759-5