MIT Humans and Automation Lab
Computers are a critical element of the command and control information synthesis and decision making process, but the human element is equally important. Both humans and computers bring different strengths and limitation to problems solving in large problems spaces with many variables, some changing dynamically, like what is experienced in command and control resource allocation problems. The goal of this research is to determine how humans and computer optimization algorithms can complement each other to provide viable solutions in time critical command and control resource allocation scenarios. Developing a collaborative model of human-computer decision making for resource allocation is critical for a futuristic complex command and control systems that involve humans who must integrate temporal and spatial elements, as well as solve problems, manage assets, and perform contingency planning in a high workload environment.
This research is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, NASA and Perceptronics
Complex
task domains such as emergency response and command and control often involve
collaboration between operational personnel in the field and tactical personnel
in a central command centre responsible for coordinating the efforts of those
operational personnel. The asymmetries of their respective work environments,
job responsibilities, available information, and situation constraints produce
distinctly different technological requirements for potential support systems
for these different personnel. A tactical actor in a command centre may exploit
the benefits of a large powerful computing system, but the operational actor
in the field is restricted to using a small handheld device. We use a tabletop
display to support the planning and coordination duties of the tactical actor,
and a handheld device for the simpler map and schedule reading of the operational
actor. The acute difference in display sizes, coupled with the other role
related differences, create a very asymmetric type of remote collaboration.
Our research focuses on the design of interfaces for tabletop and handheld devices for synchronous time-critical collaboration. We are using urban search and rescue as a scenario. Our task analysis has lead us to create interfaces for sharing three classes of information: maps, schedules, and forms. Maps provide spatial information about the incident, schedules present a temporal view of the team's plan, and forms allow essential data to be captured and disseminated. We treat these classes as shared workspaces that ground conversation between team members, and we provide workspace awareness mechanisms to support collaborative gesturing and editing. Continuing advancements in tabletop displays, mobile computing, and wireless networking set the stage for this work. Synchronous collaboration in mobile contexts offers significant benefits over asynchronous message passing, and the asymmetry we are considering raises new issues that are not apparent in conventional groupware.
Sponsored by Thales and European Commission FP6
