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Human performance modeling provides a tool to facilitate the development of well-designed systems that support their users. However, models need to be based on and compared against empirical human-in-the-loop data to ensure that the human performance predictions are correct. This paper describes an approach to gathering already-existing empirical data to support the development of a model of astronaut performance in long-duration space missions.

The primary purpose of this paper was to find the relationship between the participants’ disability and user performance on a P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) — P300 Speller. Ten participants with motor disabilities were employed to spell 10 ten-character phrases with two different user interfaces (5 for each). Results of the study indicated a linear relation between participants’ speech ability and task performance. As the speech ability increases, users’ task performance increases. However, such a relation doesn’t exist between motor ability and task performance. This study should provide invaluable empirical data and insights for the future study.

Memory for goals theory (Altmann & Trafton, 2002) describes how people suspend and resume an interrupted task by encoding, or rehearsing, the current problem state at the point of interruption and recalling this state after the interruption. In this work we investigated the timing of the encoding process, attempting to determine the most likely strategies for when to perform encoding of interrupted problem state. We examined several candidate encoding strategies and developed computational cognitive models to represent each strategy, embedding the models into a larger model of behavior in a interruption-tracking task. Comparison of the model simulations with recent empirical data suggests that encoding of problem state occurs for a short time at the start of the interruption period and is performed concurrently with the interrupting task.

The operational community has assumed that using a head-up display (HUD) rather than conventional head-down displays will increase safety margins in approach and landing operations. This paper discusses a pair of experiments that test that hypothesis. Using a Boeing 737-700 full-motion simulator and commercial airline pilots as subjects, we explored the effects of (1) HUD use, (2) ambient visibility, and (3) length of approach lighting on the size and location of the touchdown footprint. HUD use reduced the width of the touchdown footprint in all tested visibility and lighting conditions including visibility below the minimum allowed. HUD use had no effect on the length of the touchdown footprint. These are empirical data that could inform the writing of regulations regarding HUD-supported commercial aviation operations.

With the introduction of advanced automation into many human-machine systems, the human is often left to monitor the automation. However, human monitoring of automated systems can be poor, especially when the operator has to accomplish other tasks (Parasuraman, Molloy & Singh, 1993). Several explanations for these automation-related monitoring inefficiencies (“complacency”) have been put forward. One view (Parasuraman et al., 1993) suggests that complacency reflects an attention allocation strategy away from the automated system due to high trust in the automation. Empirical data from two studies using eye movement recording are presented to test this theory. In the first study, students were tested on a PC-based simulation of flight-related tasks. In the second study, professional air traffic controllers performed on a medium-fidelity ATC simulator. The results supported an attentional interpretation of automation-related complacency. Implications for the design of automated systems are discussed.

A systematic approach to developing design recommendations is described. It begins with the imposition of constraints on the solution space. Empirical results from domain research are then used as catalysts for conceptualizing new functions and designs. Where empirical data are not available, interviews are used to elicit issues of importance. This approach was used to develop design guidance for a prototype Navy command and control system.

Increasingly telecommunication systems have become an integral part of many professions. However, little empirical data and guidelines exist for designing telecommunication systems to facilitate decision makers in cooperative efforts in dynamic task environments. A preliminary experiment was conducted in which the subjects (all experienced in the domain concerned) were presented with video-tapes of previously recorded real-life trauma patient resuscitation. The experiment examined the subjects' ability to understand the status of the patient and resuscitation efforts shown in the video. The experiment was to simulate remote diagnosis tasks in which experts provide consultation through video linkage. The subjects were found to have a number of difficulties in achieving a full understanding. Hypotheses about the reasons that could explain these difficulties are proposed and they include (1) background noise, viewing range restriction, and insecure viewing access to remote sites (2) visual information overload due to the multiple action threads at remote sites (3) lack of adequate dynamic mental models of remote events and activities (4) lack of context information.