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Monitoring and Supervisory Control

The task of monitoring complex systems is becoming more and more prevalent. Many of these systems are computer controlled and autonomous. Operators are only needed in the case of a problem. In this project, supported by NASA Goddard, we are investigating the problem of operators being called to confirm anomalies that have been diagnosed by "intelligent agents." Both field and laboratory settings are being used to investigate issues of situation awareness and human performance. The effect of spatial versus textual display representations are being evaluated. The main experimental study consists of a simulation. Participants are trained on a mock-up of a satellite monitoring system. Peridically an anomaly occurs along with the "intelligent agent's" assessment of the problem. The operator must either confirm or disconfirm the anomaly by viewing data on the satellite. Agent confidence is being varied as well as the type of information display. It is predicted that when operators have a low situation awareness they will rely on the intelligent agent to a greater degree than when they are engaged in continuous monitoring of the system. It is also predicted that operators will select and use graphic displays of the satellite data rather than tabular displays.

Participants:

Betty Murphy, Graduate Research Assistant

Kent L. Norman, Department of Psychology

Funding Agency: NASA Goddard

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