Interface Design for Human-Machine Collaborations in Drone Management

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operate with large degrees of autonomy when executing tasks from a ground-based controller. However, questions regarding the human-machine intersection remain open. In this work, we design an (immersive) interface for drone management. Our interface supports operators in mission execution of one or several (automated) UAVs within a fleet. This allows operators to assign tasks to UAVs, while safe operations are ensured through in-flight conflict detection and prevention.Our interface fulfills both functional (e.g., reliability) and non-functional requirements (e.g., perceived cognitive load during use). A key design challenge stems from the latency in information exchanges, which introduces information asymmetries between the humans and UAVs. We overcome previous information asymmetries by proposing a set of design principles, whereby we partially relegate the informationprocessing and decision-making capabilities to the UAVs. We then validate the effectiveness of our interface design experimentally, which succeeds in reducing the perceived cognitive load while improving the task performance. Altogether, this work has implications for designing interfaces in human-machine collaboration, so that humans can effectively control, interact, or collaborate with automated machines, such as UAVs.INDEX TERMS unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), user interfaces, system analysis and design, drone management, in-flight conflict detection and resolution (CDR), field test

Challenges and Requirements in Multi-Drone Interfaces

“…The interface centers around a map view, following prior work on multi-drone systems [2,16]. This map shows where the drones are ying and where they are heading.…”

Current Challenges in Mission Planning Systems for UAVs: A Systematic Review

“…Reference [13] focused on the usability of VR interfaces for drone control within the ISAACS project, developing an evaluation framework for iterative user testing and prototyping. Reference [14] designed and validated an immersive interface for managing UAV fleets, addressing both functional and non-functional requirements while reducing cognitive load and improving task performance.…”

“…• Usability: The interfaces should be easy to learn, use, and adapt to, ensuring that users with varying levels of expertise can effectively control and interact with UAVs [13], [14], [16].…”

“…• Adaptability: The interfaces should be able to adapt to different contexts, user preferences, and cognitive states, dynamically adjusting the level of automation support and information presentation [14], [20].…”

“…The work of [14] involves multiple design iterations and incorporates quantitative and qualitative feedback to tackle information asymmetries caused by latency in information exchanges. The study validates the interface design through several experiments, demonstrating reduced cognitive load and improved task performance.…”