CPS: Synergy: Collaborative Research: Engineering Safety-Critical Cyber-Physical-Human Systems

Abstract:

Despite the contributions of automation to vehicular (aircraft, automobile, etc.) safety and efficiency, the problems associated with technology-centered rather than human-centered automation are well known: decreased operator situation awareness, deterioration of manual control skills, difficulties operators experience when trying to jump into the loop when needed, and so forth. We present a prototype architecture for human-automation interaction that reverses their traditional roles: in our design, the automation "looks over the shoulder" of the human operator and jumps into the loop when needed rather than the other way around to prevent vehicular loss-of-control (LoC) in an aviation context. The architecture exploits the LoC prevention algorithm proposed by Wilborn and Foster (2004). This quantitative definition uses a set of five two-dimensional envelopes relating to critical flight parameters that account for aircraft flight dynamics, aerodynamics, structural integrity, and flight control use. The LoC algorithm is used to both present the pilot with graphical cockpit displays depicting aircraft state in relation to these safety envelopes in passive mode (i.e., depicting behavior-shaping constraints), and also to compensate for ineffective pilot inputs that would cause aircraft LoC in active mode. The prototype system has been implemented in our flight simulation lab and the details underlying the design will be presented. We conclude by describing initial results of human-in-the-loop experiments designed to evaluate our novel concepts for coupling humans and automation in closed-loop, vehicular system control.