MIT Humans and Automation Lab
Greater Boston show on WGBH
Distractions
in the Cockpit
Emily Rooney discusses the Northwest Airlines incident with Prof. Mary (Missy) Cummings
The Futurist
U.S. Deploys Unmanned Vehicles
"In August 2009, the U.S. military announced that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed by a missile fired from an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. The CIA hailed the hit as a major success for U.S. attack-drone capabilities. According to the U.S. Air Force, the number of unmanned combat missions has increased 600% in the last six years. The U.S. military hopes to soon use drones for cargo transportation and refueling.
The Air Force and other agencies see enormous potential in the use of remotely controlled robots, perhaps with good reason. Unmanned vehicles could perform a wide variety of missions, according to Missy Cummings, director of the Humans and Automation Lab at MIT..."
Air Force Times:
MIT student named cadet of the year
Cadet Col. Ryan W. Castonia, a senior majoring in aerospace engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was recently named the 2009 Air Force Cadet of the Year.
Aviation Week:
Some UAV Makers Do Better Than Others
...Another approach to the problem of operating UAVs is to develop more specific training programs. While the U.S. Air Force will train more UAV operators this year than fighter and bomber pilots, former fighter pilot and current Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Missy Cummings doesn’t think the two have much in common. Speaking during a panel, she said UAV operators should be considered “more like air-traffic controllers” than pilots. “Anyone should be able to operate a UAV with minimal training,” she said. “The vehicles can fly themselves; what we need are people to manage these vehicles.”...
tuaw.com
Found Footage: Control an unmanned aerial vehicle with an iPhone
nextbigfuture.com
MIT Makes iPhone App for Controlling UAVs
gizmodo.com
Need To Fly A Military Drone? Yep, There's An iPhone App For That
MIT Professor Missy Cummings (a former F-18 Hornet Navy Pilot), and her team of 30 students and undergrads, have successfully demonstrated how an iPhone could be used to control an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAV...
Wired.com - Danger Room
New Use for Your iPhone: Controlling Drones
MIT
prof Missy Cummings used to fly F/A-18 Hornet fighters for the Navy. “I spent
whole time complaining — who was the moron who designed this thing?” she
recalled. If you’ve ever peeked inside a fighter cockpit, you’ll understand
her gripe. Dials, displays and controls pack every nook and cranny. It’s
the farthest thing from ergonomic...
Inside the Pentagon’s-Inside the Air Force
"MIT Professor:
No Need for Traditional Pilots to Fly USAF UAV Fleet"
A leading researcher in the field of unmanned aerial systems control stations
is calling for the pilot-centric Air
Force to eliminate traditional, rated pilots from unmanned aerial systems
and instead develop a specialized career field of UAS operators...
Are enlisted airmen next to pilot UAVs?
"The Air Force is desperate for UAV pilots, yet it stands alone among the services in its policy that only officers are allowed to fly large unmanned aerial vehicles.
But next month, in a reversal of policy, 10 nonrated officers — those without aviation training — will begin instruction on flying Predator and Reaper UAVs. could enlisted airmen be next? ..."
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The following article appears in the 2007–2008 issue of Aero-Astro, the annual report/magazine of the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. © 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Supervising automation: humans on the loop
The human link to the control mechanism becomes critical as systems grow larger, with increasing numbers of components and additional operators, such as in an air traffic control environment.
Of Shadows and White Scarves
The U.S. Air Force believes the best people to fly UAVs are officers with experience in an actual cockpit. But operating an unmanned aircraft requires different skills than flying a jet, argues MIT professor M.L. Cummings. The Air Force should take a page from the Army’s UAV manual and put enlisted nonpilots in control.
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The Mobile Advanced Command and Control Station on the
road in June is highlinghted in the NUWC newsletter.
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MIT’s collaboration with NUWC on projects underway with the Tactical Tomahawk Weapon System Advanced Concepts Working Group
