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Optimizing the Presentation of Uav Images in an Attack Helicopter Cockpit
Abstract
Future Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) will collaborate more directly with military manned aircraft. TNO Defence, Security and Safety investigated how to present UAV sensor images in a fighter aircraft cockpit in order to maximize target identification and flying performance. Ten military pilots performed several Close Air Support missions in a helicopter simulator using four different display configurations. The orientation of the electronic map was either North-Up or Heading-Up. The UAV sensor image was either non-aligned (unadjusted image orientation: the image is presented as seen from the UAV viewpoint), or aligned with the orientation of the electronic map (adjusted image orientation, either resulting in a North-Up orientation or a Heading-Up orientation with respect to the helicopter, depending on the orientation of the electronic map). The pilots reported that they generally preferred the aligned UAV sensor image in combination with a Heading-Up map. This preference was reflected in their performance: targets were identified twice as fast, and the waypoint trajectory was flown more efficiently.
... subjects generally performed comparably well using the chase, north-up, and track-up perspective. This is notable because other studies have found improved performance and operator preference using a track-up perspective [33, 18]. This may be because the other studies used an aviation-based control method where commands are given with respect to the craft (e.g., turn right or left). ...
Wilderness search and rescue (WiSAR) is a challenging prob- lem because of the large areas and often rough terrain that must be searched. Using mini-UAVs to deliver aerial video to searchers has potential to support WiSAR efforts, but a number of technology and human factors problems must be overcome to make this practical. At the source of many of these problems is a desire to manage the UAV using as few people as possible, so that more people can be used in ground-based search efforts. This paper uses observa- tions from two informal studies and one formal experiment to identify what human operators may be unaware of as a function of autonomy and information display. Results sug- gest that progress is being made on designing autonomy and information displays that may make it possible for a single human to simultaneously manage the UAV and its camera in WiSAR, but that adaptable displays that support sys- tematic navigation are probably needed.
A helicopter-based operator of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has to deal with an additional frame of reference compared to a ground-based colleague. The goal of the re-search was to determine whether the situational awareness (SA) of a moving UAV-operator differs from the SA of a stationary operator. In a simulator experiment, we provided UAV-operators with a set of displays having two design dimensions: map orientation (north-up / heading heli up / heading UAV up) and map center (heli / UAV). During half of the trials mo-tion feedback was given, i.e. large visuals showed the im-agery corresponding to a view from the heli. We assessed SA in world-centered terms and in vehicle-centered terms. We found clear evidence that the feedback on the heli's motion influences the UAV-operators' SA. For instance, op-erators have more problems answering world-referenced questions when motion feedback is present, whereas heli-referenced questions are answered more accurately. Overall, the best display seems to be the north-up display.