Dynamic Workload Management for Multi-RPAS Pilots

Abstract

This document describes a key aspect of NtoM, a concept of operations (ConOps) currently under development, which focuses on the awareness, productivity and safety of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) pilots controlling several flights at once in non-segregated airspace. An explanation will be given of how the ConOps suggests capturing, representing, managing and predicting the workload of the pilots. To illustrate some of the features of the concept, it was necessary to define a representation of the workload associated to the tasks. A synthetic task environment that used the NtoM prototype was built and used to evaluate the requirements of time and attention of pseudo-pilots based on their performance while executing the tasks and task overlaps, determine the top threshold of workload allowed for a pilot and detect incompatibilities among tasks. These values served as a reference to design demanding test scenarios, which helped to reveal weaknesses and inspire improvements that were addressed in the following stage of development.

NtoM: a Concept of Operations for Pilots of Multiple Remotely Piloted Aircraft

“…Early experiments, described in [28], were addressed to outlining a basic description of the averaged cognitive workload for each task and time required to carry them out when using the minimalistic GCS embedded in the NPI. That way, we could estimate the limit of workload to be allowed by the Scheduler, and discover, from the usual problems found by the participants, any other aid that could be implemented apart from those already projected.…”

“…This objective is possible because many current RPAs are highly automated and not all flight phases are equally demanding, sometimes reduced to long and monotonous supervision [27], which leads to disengagement and loss of awareness. In this respect, the multi-piloting induces a self-motivating attitude of awareness (Yerkes-Dodson law), as could be checked during the first set of experiments when participants' performance and response time to ATC were better when they had four flights compared to having just one [28]. But the system must guarantee a viable load of tasks per pilot at all times.…”

“…To that end, it needs to predict, evaluate, limit and distribute the workload. [28] described the requirements for the workload description of the tasks, exemplified by the process of measurement carried out during the first set of experiments. This workload, considered roughly as the level of attention and time required to perform the task, depends not only on the current task performed, but also on the concurrent ones, and is represented in a kind of pilot's workload profile that would evolve over time as the pilot gains experience, a fact shown in [29] (the aforementioned pilot limitations).…”

“…Also, they could be defined dynamically during the flight. More details about stages can be found in [28]. Once all the previous variables that contribute to the pilot's assignment have been considered, another significant factor should determine the final decision: to avoid handovers as much as possible, as this is a delicate procedure implying high cognitive resources.…”