UAS Human Factors

Feature Photo: Unmanned Systems Technology, (2019). MQ-9 Block 50 Ground Control Station (GCS). UST

I have started a new term with ERAU. The title of the course is ACSCI 638 Human Factors in Unmanned Aerospace Systems. In this course, we are discussing the fundamentals of human factors that Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operators experience.

In the first module, the course has us learn about the primary focus areas that UAS operators, designers, and manufacturers have been looking at to try and improve the capabilities and design of UAS. I have selected three human factors in the first module that are the most critical for UAS.

The areas I have chosen are:
Control Station Environment
Command and Control (C2) Links
See and Avoid (SAA)

In the Control Station Environment, I focused on how unmanned systems have a Ground Control Station (GCS). This GCS is accessible during the entirety of the flight. Flying from the ground allows anyone and everyone to enter and exit the GCS during operations. This can be distracting for the crews.

In C2 links, I looked at the latency and the procedures for loss link situations. To ensure the aircraft is capable of flight with high latency, the UAS must have some automation. This automation can be difficult for the crews if it does not operate all of the time correctly. If the automation is unreliable, distrust can occur from the crews, and this would cause the crews to focus on ensuring the aircraft is doing what they think it is doing instead of sharing their attention across other aspects of their mission.

In SAA, I looked at the difference between manned and unmanned aircraft. What I found is that unmanned aircraft must have sense and avoid capabilities that give the pilot a large amount of situation awareness to ensure they are capable of maneuvering the UAS away from other aircraft.