Applying Coherent Design to Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Operations and Control Stations

Abstract

This paper addresses principles of coherent design in the design of operational procedures, control systems and ground control stations for uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs). Creating a coherent set of operating procedures, automatic functions and Ground Control Stations (GCS) requires a systematic design approach that creates a consistent conceptual thread between these elements. Following this approach, Cognitive Work Analysis was used to develop procedures, automatic functions and ground control stations for continuous target surveillance using a UAV. The importance of the coherence was subsequently analyzed through human-in-the-loop simulation. The results indicate that UAV controllers, using coherent designs, achieve significantly higher mission performance and experience lower workloads than those using incoherently matched procedures, automatic functions and GCS.

A sociotechnical design toolkit for bridging the gap between systems‐based analyses and system design

“…For example, an interface should not be implemented independently of other elements such as team design or alarm design (Vicente, ). Coherent design, where the different elements of the system are designed to be compatible and integrated, promotes efficiency and reduces errors (Castro, Pritchett, Bruneau, & Johnson, ). Integrated (Definition: Can integrate with existing systems engineering processes): The importance of integrating the results of HFE design processes with system design and development processes has been emphasized (e.g., Gualtieri et al, ; Bisantz, Roth, Brickman, Gosbee, Hettinger & McKinney, ).…”

“…For example, an interface should not be implemented independently of other elements such as team design or alarm design (Vicente, ). Coherent design, where the different elements of the system are designed to be compatible and integrated, promotes efficiency and reduces errors (Castro, Pritchett, Bruneau, & Johnson, ).…”