Integrated Cognitive Analysis for Human–Autonomy Function Allocation and System Design

What is it about?

Systems developers create hardware and software tools for use by humans. In essence, they are creating systems where humans and machines (often called automation or autonomy) work together to accomplish work goals or tasks. Airplanes, cars, and control rooms are examples of human-machine systems. There can be challenges with traditional methods for developing these systems. One challenge is the methods often result in products that emphasize the machine components of the system but not the strengths of the human in the system. Traditional methods frequently underestimate the human's work to oversee the machine parts of the system. They can also yield designs that do not fully work as planned in real-world conditions. The Integrated Cognitive Analysis methodology includes six cognitive engineering methods. The methodology uses these methods to understand and describe the work-to-be-done, identify alternative design concepts, and evaluate those design concepts. This methodology is particularly useful for the case when the work-to-be-done is based on futuristic concepts, different from how the work may be done today. The paper describes the methodology as well as a case study of the methodology with the U.S. Army's advanced reconnaissance helicopter called the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft.

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Photo by Horizon flights on Unsplash

Photo by Horizon flights on Unsplash