Evaluation of Human Performance in the Operation of a UAV in a Joint Operation Scenario with Troops on the Ground

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have been applied more actively in the defense environment against terrorism since 2001. This environment was conducive to developing the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), generating the basis for the concept of the so-called mosaic warfare. This concept is the main guide for the design and future use of UAS, determining the design of user interfaces in Ground Control Stations (GCS). Due to the change in the piloting paradigm caused by the increase in the operational capacity and safety of the crew, questions arise related to the suitability of the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) to decrease mental workload. The objective of this research is the investigation questions related to the pilot's workload and the possibility of the total operation of a UAS by only one individual. To answer these questions, an HMI prototype was built to emulate the operation of a UAS. A simulated operation of combat is defined for the investigation. Each operator flew two times, each one with different targets, with two of three settings: one operator using the manual interfaces, one operator using voice command, one operator, and one pilot. The workload assessment was made using ECG sensors and an ISA questionnaire. The ECG results showed that the ECG had consistent results only in the second flight. This may happen because of training was not long enough. The ISA results reported no conclusions.

Keywords: Human performance, UAV, Physiological responses, Joint operation.

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