Increasing the Transparency of Unmanned Systems: Applications of Ecological Interface Design

Abstract

This paper describes ongoing efforts to address the challenges of supervising teams of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles through the use of demonstrated Ecological Interface Design (EID) principles. We first review the EID framework and discuss how we have applied it to the unmanned systems domain. Then, drawing from specific interface examples, we present several generalizable design strategies for improved supervisory control displays. We discuss how ecological display techniques can be used to increase the transparency and observability of highly automated unmanned systems by enabling operators to efficiently perceive and reason about automated support outcomes and purposefully direct system behavior.

Determinants of system transparency and its influence on trust in and reliance on unmanned robotic systems

“…Miller [42] cautioned interface designers' attempts to achieve "full transparency," which can increase the operator's workload and reduce the utility of the automation. Information visualization strategies such as the Ecological Interface Designs (EID) can potentially be useful for conveying agent transparency information [43].…”

Exploring Ecological Interface Design for Future ROV Capabilities in Maritime Command and Control

“…From mine hunting to ST&T functionality, there is an element of understanding aspects of a vessel's environment and responding appropriately. These aims are synergistic with EID, and it is argued that future ROV interfaces should leverage these design principals [27]. This would facilitate cognitive workload being kept to a minimum, preserving cognitive capability for novel, or high workload situations.…”

“…For example, additional information could be provided to inform the operator as to whether they have enough fuel to reach the area of interest by marking its range using a circle, see figure 2a,b. By adding this information, a need for the operator to calculate this themselves is removed, potentially saving cognitive capacity [27]. This is further illustrated by display routes on the map.…”

“…A line representing a route may sufficiently indicate a chosen path, but not provide the user with enough information to know why. This requires them to assess other information provided on the interface, incurring additional cognitive workload [27]. However, if the logic for the path choice was displayed on the interface, such as highlighting weak currents that will require less fuel to navigate in, the reasoning would be apparent, and cognitive workload could be kept to a minimum.…”

“…One potential area of optimisation in the ROV subsystem is the User Interface (UI), which can be a critical success factor in command environments [26]. Whilst ROVs technology is constantly improving, their UIs may not have improved in tandem [16,27]. As information and commands are exchanged through the UI, contributing to operator situation awareness, its effectiveness is vital to avoid incorrect information being recorded or incorrect actions being taken.…”