Introduction to Human Factors in UAS

Human Factors is the study of human behavior and performance. When applied to Unmanned Aerospace Systems (UAS), human factors envelops the various connections between the human and machine interface, such as training, automation, fatigue, procedures, environments, physical and digital controls, and user interface.

Manned aviation has become incredibly commonplace and affordable in the last few decades. We learn to trust the ecosystem that gets us from one destination to another. Aviation safety, especially in commercial aviation, has skyrocketed with deadly accidents becoming rare. Unfortunately, the same level of safety, regulation, and compliance doesn’t apply to the UAS environment as it does to manned aviation. Unmanned aviation has experienced a significantly higher accident rate than conventionally piloted aircraft. For example, the U.S. Army reports an accident rate 10 times higher with remotely piloted aircraft compared to manned aircraft, and this number may be severely underreported (Landry, 2017). This discrepancy in accident rate has been attributed to the lack of human factors consideration by system designers (Tvaryanas 2004; Williams 2004).

There are many layers to UAS human factors and how improvements can be made as UAS become commonplace in our lives. Join me on this journey through UAS human factors as we learn about design and operation of ground control stations and vehicles, integration of UAS into the National Airspace System, Aeronautical Decision Making, physiological factors, automation, and accidents.

References

Landry, S. J. (Ed.). (2017). Handbook of human factors in air transportation systems. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Tvaryanas, A. P. (2004). Visual scan patterns during simulated control of an uninhabited aerial vehicle. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 75(6): 531–538. Doi:10.1.1.485.6217.

Williams, K. W. (2004). A summary of unmanned aircraft accident/incident data: Human factors implications (Technical report DOT/FAA/AM-04/24). Washington, DC: Federal Aviation Administration.