Intro to UAS Human Factors

 Human factors is a subset of psychology that developed due the requirements of aviation during World War II. Initially, the design of cockpits and airplanes treated the pilot and the machine as separate entities, but leading human factors researchers quickly realized that there was an important connection between the two. It become imperative to understand how the pilot would make decisions and make control inputs. This wholistic approach become known as human-machine-interaction (HMI) which now serves as the basis for modern aviation design. 

The evolution of aviation since WWII has led to the proliferation of remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  Removing the pilot from the aircraft minimizes the risk to any harm befaling the pilot, but it does not alleviate the challenges of human factors in aviation.  In fact, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) which include the ground control station (GCS), the aircraft, and additional support architecture may exacerbate human factors known to exist in manned aviation and present some additional challenges that are unique to the human-machine-interaction during remote operations.

Examples of human factors that warrant consideration when designing or operating UAS include: (1) lack of sensory cues, (2) complex layers of automation, and (3) control via radio link. 

Lack of sensory cues -  Unlike the pilot of a traditional aircraft who is immersed in his environment through his/her senses, a UAS pilot cannot hear or feel changes in the aircraft. Additionally, the remote pilot can only "see" what is provided by on board cameras which offer a much more limited field of view than the human eyes.  This means that inputs and decisions made are reactionary to interpretations of data as they are reported back to the control station. 

Complex layers of automation - To supplement the decision-making process and mitigate some of the lag in control inputs, UAS often have sophisticated levels of automation that handle tasks like navigation, autopilot, and flight control coordination.  If the pilot lacks and understanding of what processes are being automated, he/she may intervene unnecessarily and create a hazardous situation. Alternatively, a pilot may become over-reliant on the automation and fail to manually intervene when the situation requires it. 

Control via radio link -  Finally, the UAS must maintain a command and return link with the control station. There are many different radio frequencies that can be used to accomplish this, but all of them have some inherent delay between a command input from the pilot and the response from the aircraft. This means that the pilot must anticipate where the plane will be in the future and make inputs ahead of that time. Additionally, in some cases, the aircraft my lose link with its control station requiring an automated system to direct flight along a pre-planned altitude and route until the pilot can reestablish positive control. 

These three elements and many more human factors are prevalent in the operation of UAS, but a better understanding of the human factors in UAS operations can result in more capable aircraft designs and overall safer operations. 

 

References

 Landry, S. J. (2017) Handbook of human factors in air transportation systems. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu

Marshall, D.M., Barnhart, R. K., Hottman, S. B., Shappee, E., & Most M. T. (Eds.) (2011). Introduction to unmanned aircraft systems. ProQuest Ebook Central  https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu

Howe, S. (2017) The Leading Human Factors Deficiencies in Unmanned Aircraft Systems