What Tasks to Automate? An Investigation of What Tasks Make Sense to Automate for Future Aviation Platforms
Abstract
The Army is developing a new generation of aircraft called Future Vertical Lift (FVL). These aircraft will integrate new technologies that change Army Aviations machinery, methods, and aircrew domains. Key to this effort is the development of automation to reduce pilot cognitive workload and prevent cognitive overload. The purpose of this research was to develop an understanding of the factors that influence pilot cognitive workload and to provide insight into what tasks make sense to automate for FVL. Researchers used a mixed methods approach, relying on scholarly literature and semi-structured interviews to elicit cognitive workload data from Army rotary-wing pilots. Researchers used the data from a simple and a complex MEDEVAC flight scenario to develop an influence diagram that models pilot cognitive workload based on influencing factors and subfactors. At a high level, the data indicate that pilot task demand and environmental factors have the most influence on cognitive workload during complex missions in challenging conditions. At a low level, the data indicate that light factors, intra-flight coordination, and task complexity are most influential on cognitive workload. The results suggest that tasks impacting these factors should be considered for automation to prevent pilot cognitive overload in FVL.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1164884
Entities
People
- Gregory S. Griffith
- Jacen P. Lanclos
- Matthew W. Carter
- Peter V. Jr Hamill
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School