Interfaces for Ground and Air Military Robots Workshop Summary (2005) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Interfaces for Ground and Air Military Robots: Workshop Summary
Interfaces for Ground and Air Military Robots: Workshop Summary
Pages 1-32
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
Interfaces for Ground and Air Military Robots Robot: 1 a: a machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being; also: a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized; b: an efficient insensitive person who functions automatically; 2: a device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks; 3: a mechanism guided by automatic controls (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition)
|
From page 2... ...
Physical design issues ranged from such problems as the size, resolution, and control constraints for small infantrycarried operator control units to the impact of motion for an operator control unit mounted on large armored vehicles. Cognitive requirements related to design issues include the need to support common situation awareness, multitasking, and teaming across multiple echelons.
|
From page 3... ...
The specific objectives, introduced at the workshop by Michael Barnes of the Army Research Laboratory, included: · Examining scalable interfaces in terms of specialized requirements, 3-D displays, multimodal displays, handheld versus mounted control units, operational constraints, and common look and feel. · Summarizing "what we know" and "what we need to know" as a precursor for design guidelines.
|
From page 4... ...
Design may be guided at different times by principles related to common look and feel, definition of functions, logic of the software and the intelligence behind the robot, and functionality. At present, scalable interfaces are very much contingent on the state-of-the-art of interface design, the evolving nature of the remote system to be controlled, and the resident capacities of the respective military users.
|
From page 5... ...
. Examples of unmanned systems include unmanned aerial vehicles, large and small unmanned ground vehicles, unmanned ground stations, backpackable robotics up to 40 lb, mules (a two-ton supply vehicle that follows four-man squads)
|
From page 6... ...
processing refinements leading to finer resolution and better separation of the objects from their backgrounds (the evolution of technology now allows near field perception to reach out to 200 meters) ; · new stereo techniques tuned to complex environments, such as forests and grassy environments; · motion stereo for mid-range perception; · detecting water; · detecting and identifying thin wires; · detecting moving objects; and · 360-degree situation awareness.
|
From page 7... ...
The Reference Model Architecture for Unmanned Ground Vehicles hierarchical structure of goals and commands has been developed to provide a world representation at seven hierarchical levels, including planning, replanning, and reacting. A multiresolution map allows data to flow up and down across levels of resolution, thus supporting planning at each level.
|
From page 8... ...
Christopher Wickens offered the human factors/human engineering perspective to interface design. Some key points that emerged from these presentations included: · Unmanned ground vehicles require more detailed imagery than unmanned aerial vehicles.
|
From page 9... ...
As shown in Figure 2, the family of warfighter tactical control units being developed by the Army is diverse and scalable. They are designed for a wide variety of operators and systems, including dismounted infantry soldiers, manned ground vehicles, unmanned ground and air vehicles, and unmanned ground stations.
|
From page 10... ...
The command and control intelligent architecture is a rule-based system that interacts with battlefield information to provide a variety of aids, including warnings, advisories, and route planning assistance. Human factors principles that have been followed in developing design alternatives include analyzing tactical needs, drawing on past operator control unit successes, reducing operator workload through the use of intelligent aids, using common and clear symbology, grouping similar controls, employing a modular design strategy, and tailoring interfaces to warfighters.
|
From page 11... ...
Goodrich, Brigham Young University The first part of Goodrich's presentation focused on controlling multiple robots, and the second described the interface design work in his laboratory. Research on Multiple Robots The research question is how many robots, team members, or tasks can a single individual manage in a given time frame?
|
From page 12... ...
. Research on Interface Design Alternative control schemes were designed for the operation of semiautonomous fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles as shown in Figure 3.
|
From page 13... ...
The greatest strength of the direct manipulation interface over the physical interface was the ability of the interaction scheme to function as the user's attention decreased, that is, it functions during NT (neglect time)
|
From page 14... ...
It is a graphical representation of the overall combat power or force equivalents of the friendly units. While the heights of the bars represent the force equivalents, combat power is also given as a function of time and with respect to the planned mission objectives.
|
From page 15... ...
Wickens, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Wickens began with a key principle of interface design -- simplicity. His research suggests lowering ambition, filtering out tasks, and providing adequate redundancy to ensure backup when systems fail.
|
From page 16... ...
FIGURE 7 Display complexity and human operator problems. Human Factors Issues 2.
|
From page 17... ...
The first presentation was given by Robin Murphy, one of the first researchers to be involved in robotic urban search and rescue and who headed a team at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. John Pye presented his experience on lessons learned when human-packable robotic systems are deployed in the field, specifically, robots and robotic controllers for U.S.
|
From page 18... ...
Navigation Is Not the Problem Robin Murphy, Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue, University of South Florida The first known actual use of robots for urban search and rescue was at the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001. These robots were used to search for victims; to search for paths through the rubble as a guide to excavation; to inspect structures; and to detect hazardous materials.
|
From page 19... ...
Development and Field Trials of the Advanced Robotic Controller -- Lessons Learned John Pye, Exponent Failure Analysis Associates Pye and his colleagues at Exponent have developed the advanced robotic controller (ARC) and tested its application to the field in Afghanistan.
|
From page 20... ...
A total of 60 ARCs were tested during a one-month period in Afghanistan. Members of the Army Rapid Equipping Force comprised the test group.
|
From page 21... ...
· Responsiveness: able to provide a mission-centric perspective that enables operators to react in tactical timeframes. A primary goal of the military robotic programs is to make it possible for one remote operator to control multiple robots on the front line, with the effect of taking the soldiers out of harm's way.
|
From page 22... ...
In between are various combinations of automation and human supervision or control. Thayer proposed to invest more in interface design, particularly to ensure compatibility between the spatial and temporal aspects of the task and the tools provided at the interface.
|
From page 23... ...
. Design for Coordination and Control Nancy Cooke, Arizona State University East Cooke and her colleagues have conducted research in the context of a simulated ground control station for unmanned aerial vehicles in which three-person teams are required to fly a simulated unmanned aerial vehicle for the purpose of taking reconnaissance photographs.
|
From page 24... ...
control KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING, repellor level 1 EXPERIENCE hypothetical values of the relevant conditions under which the CONTROL attractor model evolves will allow us to make novel predictions control level 2 COUPLED ELEMENTS perturbations associated with the dynamics of underlying information couplings can VARIABILITY alter statewhen attractor is weak un-coordinated coordinated RETENTION INTERVAL long delays between strength performance episodes leads to DECAY f(t+1)
|
From page 25... ...
Each type of task delegation requires a rich declaration of intent. Finding the appropriate level, set, and range of delegable activities requires traditional human-computer interaction design techniques.
|
From page 26... ...
These systems are dynamic and involve continual adaptation, multiple points of view, multiple agendas and ambitions, and heterogeneous capabilities and methods. Teams of humans and robots represent one type of complex cognitive system.
|
From page 27... ...
The system-wide sharing of combat information and the importance of distal situation awareness, combined with single point control, inevitably loads current hand-held devices to their operational limits and beyond. In relying heavily on visual representations, the problem of seeing the whole picture is one that requires innovative display solutions.
|
From page 28... ...
This dimension has had some success in considering scalability in unmanned aerial vehicles. For ground vehicles, however, class definitions and role characteristics are not well defined and thus not yet as effective for considering scalability.
|
From page 29... ...
The real world is full of series of nested tasks, and operators are not good in situations in which the performance of one task is interrupted by the need to perform another task. Command Language Another issue concerns developing an effective command language.
|
From page 30... ...
It is also important to carefully consider situations in which similarity and standardization reduce operator workload and those in which they add to operator confusion. Field Experience Necessary A final issue is the lack of field contact by both engineers and human factors researchers.
|
From page 31... ...
From Pye's experience in Afghanistan, the first to confront the unmanned ground vehicle were the village children, who were curious to see what this obvious novelty was all about. A second issue concerns the design of future robotic mission and robotic capability.
|
From page 32... ...
32 INTERFACES FOR GROUND AND AIR MILITARY ROBOTS could lead to situations in which the surveillance technology or robots and unmanned vehicles designed for combating the enemy might be used against American civilians without their knowledge and without the ability to protect their privacy. It is important to be cognizant of future technology developments and guard against possible abuses of these capabilities.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.