智能交互系统中人机组队协同工效提升的模型构建

目的 智能交互系统在城市救援及日常生活中应用越来越广泛,探讨了人机组队作业中人机协同工效提升的内在机制和规律,以构建人机组队协同的相容性理论模型并应用于复杂系统中人机组队的设计和优化。方法 采用跨学科交叉分析和文献调研分析的方法,分别对认知心理学、工程心理学和计算机科学等不同领域文献进行充分检索和分析,系统梳理了从智能体的界面设计及自动化水平、操作员状态与情境感知能力、人机关系及交互方式等对人机协同工效的影响因素;并通过共享心理模型、自然主义决策模型、多重表征模型尝试对人机如何协同的机制进行探讨和分析,指出了目前研究中存在的问题和不足。在此基础上提出较为系统的智能交互系统中人机组队相容性理论模型。结果 该模型通过对人、智能体、环境和任务特征进行分析,并从物理相容性、认知相容性和情感相容性三个角度,对人机组队协同工效提升的内在规律和机制进行深入探讨,有效提升人机组队协同的系统工效和用户体验,避免安全事故的发生。结论 智能交互系统中人机组队的相容性模型可用于未来人机协同工效提升的理论和实践研究,也可用于未来智能人机交互系统,特别是智能化时代人机组队的设计和优化,满足众多复杂的人机系统(如商用飞机驾驶舱、核电站中央控制室)人机高效协同设计的需求,为建立自然高效人机协同作业的交互模式提供科学依据。     

Human-autonomy teaming in military settings

ABSTRACT

In this Thematic Issue ‘Human-Autonomy Teaming’ of Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, five U.S. military-funded research efforts are presented to discuss human factors issues in a variety of military human-autonomy teaming mission environments: dismounted infantry working with a small ground robot; intelligence analysis; human working with an intelligent agent to manage a team of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles; vehicle-mounted ground penetrating radar. The research issues addressed in this Issue are diverse – from display designs to operator performance and trust in the systems. The results and insights documented in these five articles should provide useful resources to researchers and practitioners working on intelligent and autonomous systems.     

The privileged sensing framework: A principled approach to improved human-autonomy integration

ABSTRACT

A primary goal for human-autonomy integration (HAI) is to balance the strengths of human and autonomy in order to achieve performance objectives more efficiently and robustly than either the human or autonomous agents would independently. This paper proposes the Privileged Sensing Framework (PSF) as a novel approach to HAI. This approach is based on the concept of dynamically ‘privileging’ information during the process of integration by dynamically bestowing special rights based on the characteristics of each individual agent, the task context, and the performance goals. The proposed framework is tested through a series of simulation experiments that provide a clear demonstration of increased accuracy and throughput of human-autonomy performance. These proof-of-concept simulations provide initial evidence of the utility of the PSF. Continued development of this approach has the potential to revolutionise capabilities of multi-agent cooperative teams across a broad range of applications.     

Unsteady diffusion in a multi‐layer medium with immobilization reaction at the interfaces

Abstract

A mathematical model is developed to describe the unsteady diffusion in a multi‐layer medium with interfaces that have non‐zero thickness. A general interface condition is used to account for the secondary phenomena that may take place in the interfaces. Analytical solution is obtained by the use of the linear operator method. An example is given to show the effects of the secondary phenomena on the diffusion behavior in the diffusion process with membrane as the interfaces.     

Review and reappraisal of adaptive interfaces: Toward biologically inspired paradigms

The field of Adaptive Interfaces has been an active area of research for over 10 years. While there have been great advances, unresolved issues remain. The paper presents a reappraisal of adaptive interfaces with an eye toward addressing these issues using biologically inspired methods. We first define a general and theoretical model of adaptive interfaces based on a survey of existing research. Using our generalized adaptive interface model, we then proceed to build taxonomies of variables used for adaptation. The aim is to provide researchers, designers and builders a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms, processes and outcomes of adaptive interfaces. From our review, we propose design rules that address three primary elements of a generalized adaptive interface: the identification of variables that call for adaptation, the determination of necessary modifications to the interface, and the selection of the decision inference mechanism. We then turn to the investigation of an alternative method for adaptive interface design. To find a method that corresponds better to human decision-making, which has been characterized as situated and recognition-primed, we explored biologically inspired techniques. In particular, we focus on the correspondence between human decision-making behaviour and the concepts of emergence and self-organization. While our ruminations are speculative, the future of biologically inspired interfaces seems promising.     

Supporting anticipation in driving through attentional and interpretational in-vehicle displays

ObjectiveThis paper evaluates two different types of in-vehicle interfaces to support anticipation in driving: one aids attention allocation and the other aids interpretation of traffic in addition to attention allocation.BackgroundAnticipation is a competency that has been shown to facilitate safety and eco-driving through the efficient positioning of a vehicle for probable, upcoming changes in traffic. This competency has been shown to improve with driving experience. In an earlier simulator study, we showed that compared to novice drivers, experienced drivers exhibited a greater number of timely actions to avoid upcoming traffic conflicts. In this study, we seek to facilitate anticipation in general and for novice drivers in particular, who appear to lack the competency. We hypothesize that anticipation depends on two major steps and that it can be supported by aiding each: (1) conscious perception of relevant cues, and (2) effective processing of these cues to create a situational assessment as a basis for anticipation of future developments.MethodWe conducted a simulator experiment with 24 experienced and 24 novice drivers to evaluate two interfaces that were designed to aid the two hypothesized steps of anticipation. The attentional interface was designed to direct attention toward the most relevant cue. The interpretational interface represented several cues, and in addition to directing attention also aimed to aid sense-making of these cues.ResultsThe results confirmed our hypothesis that novice drivers’ anticipation performance, as measured through timely actions to avoid upcoming traffic conflicts, would be improved with either interface type. However, results contradicted our expectation that novice drivers would obtain larger improvements with the interpretational interface. Experienced drivers performed better than novice drivers to begin with and did not show any statistically significant improvements with either interface.ConclusionBoth interfaces improved anticipation performance for novice drivers. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of these interfaces in a wider variety of driving conditions, such as when the driver is multitasking.     

Project teaming in a democratic company context

ABSTRACT

Teaming in democracy generates knowledge, the raw material for innovation, the catalyst for development, progress and extroversion. Democratic teaming, rather than teaming per se, provides people with the space needed to speak and be heard, to give and share, to contribute and to co-evolve in a cooperative and non-competitive way. Democratic teaming belongs to applied philosophy, not applied management, generating added-value for organisations and a shared value for the society. The democratic teaming model is characterised by the principles of placing the right person in the right place at the right time and with the right scope. The model also presents the concept that teams have systemic, dynamic and agile structures, which are affected by the project they are called to serve, within organisationally lean and agile hierarchies for the maximum utilisation of employees’ intellectual capital. This paper presents the democratic teaming construct, concepts and approach within the company democracy model.     

Identification of singular interfaces with Δ<Emphasis Type="Bold">g</Emphasis>s and its basis of the O-lattice

This article identifies singular interfaces according to singularity in terms of structural defects, including dislocations and ledges. Defect singularities are defined by the elimination of one or more classes of defects, which must be present in the vicinal interfaces. In addition to the three commonly classified structural interfaces, a new type of interface—the CS-coherent interface—is introduced. Singularities in dislocation and ledge structures have been integrated in the study of orientation relationships (OR). The dislocation structures are determined through the O-lattice theory, originally proposed by Bollmann. The basic concepts of the O-lattice and related formulas from the original theory and extended studies are briefly reviewed. According to the theory, singular interfaces exhibiting singularity in the dislocation structures have been identified. An interface that is singular with respect to the interface orientation must be normal to at least one Δg, a vector connecting two reciprocal points from different lattices. An interface that is singular also with respect to the OR must obey one or more Δg parallelism rules. The selection of proper Δgs for different preferred states of interfaces are explained. Identification of singular interfaces with measurable Δgs provides a convenient and effective approach to the interpretation of the observed facets and ORs. The ambiguity about the selection of the deformation matrix (A) for the O-lattice calculation and the advantage of the O-lattice approach over the approach using the Frank–Bilby equation for the calculation of the interfacial dislocations are clarified. Limitations of the present approach and further study are discussed.     

An integrative model of autonomous agent teammate-likeness

ABSTRACT

Advancements in autonomy are beginning to allow humans to partner with machines in order to accomplish work tasks in various settings. As human–agent teaming (HAT) becomes more prevalent as a research topic, the need to understand humans’ psychological perceptions of the machine partner is increasingly important, especially in terms of its perceived role, which may ultimately impact trust and team effectiveness. Specifically, it remains unclear how humans perceive intelligent agents and how consistent these perceptions are with existing taxonomies found in the psychology of teams. The present paper presents a definition of the construct of autonomous agent teammate-likeness (AAT) and a conceptual model of its components, reviews related concepts and germane research and proffers a number of propositions to guide future research. The goal is to contribute to the nascent literature on HAT by establishing a theoretical foundation for the AAT construct, upon which researchers can advance research on HAT.     

2008 ASEM Conference Announcement

Abstract:

This article describes the development of a new, integrated approach to system safety engineering. The approach is illustrated in a case study involving the design of a high-pressure experimental research facility. The system safety engineering framework incorporates five main groups of activities, including system design visualization, failure modes and effects analysis, multidisciplinary teaming, benchmarking, and enterprise management. Coupling a systems engineering approach with the recognized principals of failure mode avoidance was found to significantly enhance the engineering design process.     

Usability criteria for intelligent driver assistance systems

Increasing numbers of intelligent driver assistance systems are now being installed in motor vehicles to support drivers. In order to ensure that the stress reduction benefits obtained from these systems are not nullified or even outweighed by new stresses at the vehicle's man-machine interfaces, the systems' control concepts must be designed to high ergonomic standards. This review seeks to identify design weaknesses in assistance systems by presenting criteria that must, on the one hand, be observed when designing the control concept of a new assistance system and, on the other hand, be applied when assessing the man-machine interfaces of assistance systems already installed in a vehicle. Currently available and future driver assistance systems are evaluated against recognized usability criteria, and their weak points are discussed.     

Neuroadaptive technologies: Applying neuroergonomics to the design of advanced interfaces

This article describes an emerging approach to the design of human-machine systems referred to as 'neuroadaptive interface technology'. A neuroadaptive interface is an ensemble of computer-based displays and controls whose functional characteristics change in response to meaningful variations in the user's cognitive and/or emotional states. Variations in these states are indexed by corresponding central nervous system activity, which control functionally adaptive modifications to the interface. The purpose of these modifications is to promote safer and more effective human-machine system performance. While fully functional adaptive interfaces of this type do not currently exist, there are promising steps being taken toward their development, and great potential value in doing so--value that corresponds directly to and benefits from a neuroergonomic approach to systems development. Specifically, it is argued that the development of these systems will greatly enhance overall human-machine system performance by providing more symmetrical communications between users and computer-based systems than currently exist. Furthermore, their development will promote a greater understanding of the relationship between nervous system activity and human behaviour (specifically work-related behaviour), and as such may serve as an exemplary paradigm for neuroergonomics. A number of current research and development areas related to neuroadaptive interface design are discussed, and challenges associated with the development of this technology are described.     

An interactive design system for engineering drawings

Abstract

A successfully developed design system which provides an on‐line interactive facility for the application of engineering drawings is described. A set of processing questions as well as a set of control functions are supplied to support man‐machine interactive construction and maintainence of picture data. A vector‐valued parametric form together with the basic operations of translation, rotation, and scaling are integrated into a standard form for generating picture primitives. Also, a B‐tree structure is used to minimize disk access times so that data base file organization of the design system can handle huge amount of picture records.     

Buried interface characterization in optoelectronic materials by interference microscopy

Abstract

In optoelectronic materials development, the analysis of buried interfaces is sometimes necessary in order to achieve the best optical and electrical performance. Interference microscopy has been investigated as a means to characterize interfaces buried under transparent layers. This technique is typically used at the air/material surface but since it is a non-contacting optical far field technique, it can also be used to measure buried interfaces which are innaccessible by near field scanning probes. We have succeeded in measuring the nanometric roughness of interfaces of porous silicon layers on silicon and of up to three successive buried interfaces in rare earth doped fluoride glass planar waveguides having reflectivities as low as 10^?4 using phase stepping microscopy. Errors in the measured roughness values were introduced with increased depth of the interface, due to the distortion of the wavefront passing through the overlying transparent layer. Scanning white light interferometry was also used to measure the depth of the different interfaces in cases where the refractive indices were known to be homogeneous. Further work is required to better understand the origin of errors in the measurements due to the presence of the overlying transparent layers in order to improve the accuracy of the technique.     

Simultaneous observation of surface plasmons on both sides of thin silver films

Abstract

Both prism and grating coupling have been used to optically excite surface plasmons on the two sides of thin silver films. This allows the optical permittivity of the silver films to be determined simultaneously at the metal/air and the (protected) glass/metal interfaces. It is found that there is a significant difference between the permittivities for the two interfaces which depends upon the thickness of the metal film. This difference is tentatively attributed to the silver films being more porous at the air interface, although an alternative interpretation, based on possible changes in electron density through oxygen absorption by silver, is not excluded.     

Rationally Designed Peptide Interface for Potential Modulated Cell Adhesion and Migration

Conformational changes of peptides are critically important in the control of their biological activities. Here, a quaternary ammonium group‐terminated RGD‐containing peptide (RGD‐NMe₃) is designed, which may undergo reversible conformational switch upon different electrochemical potentials. Potential responsive peptide interfaces are constructed on gold substrates with RGD‐NMe₃ in a tetra (ethylene glycol) background. It is demonstrated that by applying positive and negative potentials, the RGD peptide can be reversibly switched between linear and cyclic conformation, which can be used in reversible controlling of cell adhesion/migration on the interface. Furthermore, by combining microfluidics, adhesion of the cells in specific areas on the surface and subsequent directional migration of the cells can be controlled. It is believed that this straightforward potential modulation mechanism for peptide conformation control may find a wide use in design responsive peptide interfaces.     

Role of interfaces during oxidation

Abstract

During oxidation of a metal sample in air the new oxide could, in principle, form at the oxide/oxide interface, the oxide/oxide grain boundaries, the oxide/metal interface, or the metal/metal grain boundaries. The diffusional properties of the various interfaces and boundaries are discussed and a mechanism is proposed for the inhibition of the oxidation reaction by second phase particles.

MST/851     

Development of microstructures of high grain aspect ratio during zone annealing of oxide dispersion strengthened superalloys

Abstract

Two extruded bars of the nickel base mechanically alloyed materials MA 6000 and MA 760 have been zone recrystallised in a calibrated gradient furnace. Selected area channelling patterns in the scanning electron microscope have been employed to study the crystallographic texture of the grains of large aspect ratio produced by zone annealing, and microbeam electron diffraction has enabled the orientations of the submicrometre sized equiaxed grains in the material behind the (secondary) recrystallisation front to be studied. In both alloys a curved secondary recrystallisation interface is observed, with the surface recrystallising at a lower temperature than the interior. This is considered to result indirectly from the strain gradients occurring during extrusion. A <110> texture is present, and reasons for this are discussed. In MA 6000 progressive grain rotation towards <110> has been measured behind the recrystallisation interface, although this is not observed in MA 760 as it transforms at a lower temperature. Quenching experiments have shown that nucleation of secondary recrystallisation occurs at temperatures higher than that at which the recrystallisation interface grows at the zoning speed employed. It is suggested that the microstructure develops via the thermally activated unpinning of interfaces which have mobility advantages.

MST/1948     

Ionic conductivity in oxide heterostructures: the role of interfaces

Abstract

Rapidly growing attention is being directed to the investigation of ionic conductivity in oxide film heterostructures. The main reason for this interest arises from interfacial phenomena in these heterostructures and their applications. Recent results revealed that heterophase interfaces have faster ionic conduction pathways than the bulk or homophase interfaces. This finding can open attractive opportunities in the field of micro-ionic devices. The influence of the interfaces on the conduction properties of heterostructures is becoming increasingly important with the miniaturization of solid-state devices, which leads to an enhanced interface density at the expense of the bulk. This review aims to describe the main evidence of interfacial phenomena in ion-conducting film heterostructures, highlighting the fundamental and technological relevance and offering guidelines to understanding the interface conduction mechanisms in these structures.     

Influence of sulphur on oxide scale adherence to Ni–Cr based alloys

Abstract

The accumulation of sulphur atoms and small sulphide precipitates in oxide scales and substrates following the high temperature oxidation (at an oxygen partial pressure of 1 atm) of presulphidised Ni–Cr base alloys has been monitored by combining microstructural studies with analytical measurements. It has been shown that the distribution and chemical state of sulphur are modified according to the morphology and nature of the outer layers of oxide scale. This disturbance of the sulphur atom location influences the mechanical behaviour of the scale during isothermal oxidation and cooling treatments. Changes in scale microstructure (interfaces, precipitates, etc.) and modifications to oxidation mechanisms (cationic diffusion through the alloy and oxide, oxygen transport to the oxide/alloy interface, etc.) significantly change the stress relaxation process in the oxide scale and hence its adherence to the underlying alloy substrate.

MST/837