Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Operators' Workload Reduction: The Effect of 3D Audio on Operators' Workload and Performance during Multi-Aircraft Control
Abstract
The importance and number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations are rapidly growing in both military and civilian applications. This growth has produced significant manpower issues, producing a desire that multiple aircraft are controlled by a single operator as opposed to the current model where one aircraft may require multiple operators. A potential issue is the need for an operator to monitor radio traffic for the call signs of multi-aircraft. An investigation of the use of 3D sound was undertaken to investigate whether an automatic parser, which preselected the spatial location of relevant versus irrelevant call signs, could aid UAV operators in increasing performance with reduced workload. Furthermore, because the 3D audio system may not guarantee 100 reliability, human performance with the 3D audio system was also collected when they were informed announcement that errors were possible and when the reliability level was less than 100 . This investigation included development of a human performance model, simulation of human performance and workload, and a human subject study. Consequently, promising effects of the 3D audio system on multi-aircraft control were found. This novel and unique use of 3D sound is discussed, and significant improvements in response time and workload are demonstrated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 24, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1054104
Entities
People
- Sung-Bin Kim
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology