A Study of Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Learnability for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Command and Control

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

The operation of sophisticated unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) involves complex interactions between human and machine. Unlike other areas of aviation where technological advancement has flourished to accommodate the modernization of the National Airspace System (NAS), the scientific paradigm of UAS user interface design has received little research attention. This study examined system learnability of an industry standard UAS HMI as minimal usability data exists to support the state-of-the art for innovative command and control user interface designs. Data collected pertained to the three classes of objective usability measures as prescribed by the ISO 9241-11. The three classes included: (1) effectiveness, (2) efficiency, and (3) satisfaction. The System Usability Scale (SUS) survey instrument was also incorporated in a post-hoc fashion across forty-five participants with none to varying levels of conventional flight experience. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) computations for completion rates revealed statistical significance for trial three between subjects [F (2, 42) = 3.98, p = 0.02]. Post hoc t-test using a Bonferroni correction revealed statistical significance in completion rates [t (28) = -2.92, p

Author

• Haritos, Tom, Ph.D. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Unmanned Aircraft Systems
• Usability
• Learnability
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Aviation