Browse Topic: Human Factors and Ergonomics
ABSTRACT BAE Systems Combat Simulation and Integration Labs (CSIL) are a culmination of more than 14 years of operational experience at our SIL facility in Santa Clara. The SIL provides primary integration and test functions over the entire life cycle of a combat vehicle’s development. The backbone of the SIL operation is the Simulation-Emulation-Stimulation (SES) process. The SES process has successfully supported BAE Systems US Combat Systems (USCS) SIL activities for many government vehicle development programs. The process enables SIL activities in vehicle design review, 3D virtual prototyping, human factor engineering, and system & subsystem integration and test. This paper describes how CSIL applies the models, software, and hardware components in a hardware-in-the-loop environment to support USCS combat vehicle development in the system integration lab
ABSTRACT To support customers during product development, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) utilizes a set of Operations Research/Decision Support processes and tools to facilitate all levels of decision-making aimed at achieving a balanced system design. GDLS employs a rigorous Structured Decision (SD) process that allows for large, highly complex or strategic decisions to be made at the system-of-systems, system, and/or subsystem level. Powerful, robust tools -the Advanced Collaborative System Optimization Modeler (ACSOM) and Logical Decisions for Windows (LDW) - are used to make relatively quick assessments and provide recommendations. The latest ACSOM algorithms have increased the response time for trade study analysis by over 2,000 times and future versions will incorporate logistics analysis helping to reduce vehicle Life Cycle Cost
ABSTRACT Research is currently underway to improve controllability of high degree-of-freedom manipulators under a Phase II SBIR contract sponsored by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC). As part of this program, the authors have created new control methods as well as adapting tool changing technology onto a dexterous arm to look at controllability of various manipulator functions. In this paper, the authors describe the work completed under this program and describe the findings of this work in terms of how these technologies can be used to extend the capabilities of existing and newly developed robotic manipulators
ABSTRACT Military vehicle electrical power systems require quickly responding fault protection to prevent mission failure, vehicle damage, or personnel injury. The electromechanical contactors commonly used for HEV protection have slow response and limited cycle life, factors which could result in fuse activation and disabling of the vehicle, presenting a dangerous situation for the soldier. A protection technology not often considered is Solid State Circuit Breakers (SSCB), which have fast response and good reliability. Challenges of extremely high currents and voltages, high temperatures, and harsh conditions have prevented SSCBs from being effective in high power military vehicle electrical systems. Development of an SSCB for military vehicle power systems would increase electrical power system capacity and expand mission capability. The development of a 1.2 kV/200A Silicon-Carbide MOSFET based SSCB for combat HEVs is presented. The key innovation is packaging that minimizes losses
ABSTRACT The concept of handheld control systems with modular and/or integrated display provides the flexibility of operator use that supports the needs of today’s warfighters. A human machine interface control system that easily integrates with vehicle systems through common architecture and can transition to support dismounted operations provides warfighters with functional mobility they do not have today. With Size, Weight and Power along with reliability, maintainability and availability driving the needs of most platforms for both upgrade and development, moving to convertible (mounted to handheld) and transferrable control systems supports these needs as well as the need for the warfighter to maintain continuous control and command connectivity in uncertain mission conditions
ABSTRACT As the number of robotic systems on the battlefield increases, the number of operators grows with it, leading to significant cost burden. Autonomous robots are already capable of task execution with limited supervision, and the capabilities of autonomous robots continue to advance rapidly. Because these autonomous systems have the ability to assist and augment human soldiers, commanders need advanced methods for assigning tasks to the systems, monitoring their status and using them to achieve desirable results. Mission Command for Autonomous Systems (MCAS) aims to enable natural interaction between commanders and their autonomous assets without requiring dedicated operators or significantly increasing the commanders’ cognitive burden. This paper discusses the approach, design and challenges of MCAS and present opportunities for future collaboration with industry and academia
ABSTRACT The concept of handheld control systems with modular and/or integrated display provides the flexibility of operator use that supports the needs of today’s warfighters. A human machine interface control system that easily integrates with vehicle systems through common architecture and can transition to support dismounted operations provides warfighters with functional mobility they do not have today. With Size, Weight and Power along with reliability, maintainability and availability driving the needs of most platforms for both upgrade and development, moving to convertible (mounted to handheld) and transferrable control systems supports these needs as well as the need for the warfighter to maintain continuous control and command connectivity in uncertain mission conditions
ABSTRACT The goal of the human factors engineer is to work within the systems engineering process to ensure that a Crew Centric Design approach is utilized throughout system design, development, fielding, sustainment, and retirement. To evaluate the human interface, human factors engineers must often start with a low fidelity mockup, or virtual model, of the intended design until a higher fidelity physical representation or the working hardware is available. Testing the Warrior-Machine Interface needs to begin early and continue throughout the Crew Centric Design process to ensure optimal soldier performance. This paper describes a Four Step Process to achieve this goal and how it has been applied to the ground combat vehicle programs. Using these four steps in the ground combat vehicle design process improved design decisions by including the user throughout the process either in virtual or real form, and applying the user’s operational requirements to drive the design
ABSTRACT Autonomous robots can maneuver into dangerous situations without endangering Soldiers. The Soldier tasked with the supervision of a route clearing robot vehicle must be located beyond the physical effect of an exploding IED but close enough to understand the environment in which the robot is operating. Additionally, mission duration requirements discourage the use of low level, fatigue inducing, teleoperation. Techniques are needed to reduce the Soldier’s mental stress in this demanding situation, as well as to blend the high level reasoning of a remote human supervisor with the local autonomous capability of a robot to provide effective, long term mission performance. GDRS has developed an advanced supervised autonomy version of its Robotics Kit (GDRK) under the Robotic Mounted Detection System (RMDS) program that provides a cost effective, high-utility automation solution that overcomes the limitations and burden of a purely teleoperated system. GDRK is a modular robotic
ABSTRACT This presentation will review the ongoing lessons learned from a joint Industry/DoD collaborative program to explore this area over the past 5 years. The discussion will review the effectiveness of integrating multiple new technologies (combined with select COTS elements) to provide a complete solution designed to reduce spares stockpiles, maximize available manpower, reduce maintenance downtime and reduce vehicle lifecycle costs. A number of new and emerging technology case studies involving diagnostic sensors (such as battery health monitors), knowledge management data accessibility, remote support-based Telematics, secure communication, condition-based software algorithms, browser-based user interfaces and web portal data delivery will be presented
ABSTRACT In this paper, we discuss a neuroimaging experiment that employed a mission-based scenario (MBS) design, a new approach for designing experiments in simulated environments for human subjects [1]. This approach aims to enhance the realism of the Soldier-task-environment interaction by eliminating many of the tightly-scripted elements of a typical laboratory experiment; however, the absence of these elements introduces several challenges for both the experimental design and statistical analysis of the experimental data. Here, we describe an MBS experiment using a simulated, closed-hatch crewstation environment. For each experimental session, two Soldiers participated as a Commander-Driver team to perform six simulated low-threat security patrol missions. We discuss challenges faced while designing and implementing the experiment before addressing analysis approaches appropriate for this type of experimentation. We conclude by highlighting three example transition pathways from
ABSTRACT One of the main thrusts in current Army Science & Technology (S&T) activities is the development of occupant-centric vehicle structures that make the operation of the vehicle both comfortable and safe for the soldiers. Furthermore, a lighter weight vehicle structure is an enabling factor for faster transport, higher mobility, greater fuel conservation, higher payload, and a reduced ground footprint of supporting forces. Therefore, a key design challenge is to develop lightweight occupant-centric vehicle structures that can provide high levels of protection against explosive threats. In this paper, concepts for using materials, damping and other mechanisms to design structures with unique dynamic characteristics for mitigating blast loads are investigated. The Dynamic Response Index (DRI) metric [1] is employed as an occupant injury measure for determining the effectiveness of the each blast mitigation configuration that is considered. A model of the TARDEC Generic V-Hull
ABSTRACT The use and operation of unmanned systems are becoming more commonplace and as missions gain complexity, our warfighters are demanding increasing levels of system functionality. At the same time, decision making is becoming increasingly data driven and operators must process large amounts of data while also controlling unmanned assets. Factors impacting robotic/unmanned asset control include mission task complexity, line-of-sight/non-line-of-sight operations, simultaneous UxV control, and communication bandwidth availability. It is critical that any unmanned system requiring human interaction, is designed as a “human-in-the-loop” system from the beginning to ensure that operator cognitive load is minimized and operator effectiveness is optimized. Best practice human factors engineering in the form of human machine interfaces and user-centered design for robotic/unmanned control systems integrated early in platform concept and design phases can significantly impact platform
ABSTRACT Recent advances in neuroscience, signal processing, machine learning, and related technologies have made it possible to reliably detect brain signatures specific to visual target recognition in real time. Utilizing these technologies together has shown an increase in the speed and accuracy of visual target identification over traditional visual scanning techniques. Images containing a target of interest elicit a unique neural signature in the brain (e.g. P300 event-related potential) when detected by the human observer. Computer vision exploits the P300-based signal to identify specific features in the target image that are different from other non-target images. Coupling the brain and computer in this way along with using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of the images enables large image datasets to be accurately interrogated in a short amount of time. Together this technology allows for potential military applications ranging from image triaging for the image analyst
Abstract On the Mobile Detection Assessment Response System (MDARS) production program, General Dynamics Robotics Systems (GDRS) and International Logistics Systems (ILS), are working with the US Army’s Product Manager – Force Protection Systems (PM-FPS) to reduce system costs throughout the production lifecycle. Under this process, GDRS works through an Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) process to improve the reliability and maintainability of subsystem designs with the goal of making the entire system more producible at a lower cost. In addition, GDRS recommends substitutions of Government requirements that are cost drivers with those that reduce cost impact but do not result in reduced capability for the end user. This paper describes the production lifecycle process for the MDARS system and recommends future considerations for fielding of complex autonomous robotic systems
In recent years, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have experienced significant sales growth, marked by advancements in features and market delivery. This evolution intersects with innovative software-defined vehicles, which have transformed automotive supply chains, introducing new BEV brands from both emerging and mature markets. The critical role of software in software-defined battery electric vehicles (SD-BEVs) is pivotal for enhancing user experience and ensuring adherence to rigorous safety, performance, and quality standards. Effective governance and management are crucial, as failures can mar corporate reputations and jeopardize safety-critical systems like advanced driver assistance systems. Product Governance and Management for Software-defined Battery Electric Vehicles addresses the complexities of SD-BEV product governance and management to facilitate safer vehicle deployments. By exploring these challenges, it aims to enhance internal processes and foster cross
Road safety remains a critical concern globally, with millions of lives lost annually due to road accidents. In India alone, the year 2021 witnessed over 4,12,432 road accidents resulting in 1,53,972 fatalities and 3,84,448 injuries. The age group most affected by these accidents is 18-45 years, constituting approximately 67% of total deaths. Factors such as speeding, distracted driving, and neglect to use safety gear increases the severity of these incidents. This paper presents a novel approach to address these challenges by introducing a driver safety system aimed at promoting good driving etiquette and mitigating distractions and fatigue. Leveraging Raspberry Pi and computer vision techniques, the system monitors driver behavior in real-time, including head position, eye blinks, mouth opening and closing, hand position, and internal audio levels to detect signs of distraction and drowsiness. The system operates in both passive and active modes, providing alerts and alarms to the
The integration of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication technologies holds immense potential to revolutionize the automotive industry by enabling vehicles to communicate with each other (V2V) and with infrastructure (V2I). This paper investigates the feasibility of V2X and V2I communication, exploring available communication methods for vehicles to communicate. Many a times people like to travel together and it involves more than one vehicle travelling together, in such cases they often get lost the information about fellow vehicles due to the traffic condition and different driving behaviors of the individual driver. In such cases they communicate over phones to get to know the location of fellow vehicle or keep sharing their live locations. In such cases they don’t just follow the destination in maps also they should be continuously monitoring their fellow vehicles position. It is important for vehicles travelling in group to have communication and be connected so that they know
Crew Station design in the physical realm is complex and expensive due to the cost of fabrication and the time required to reconfigure necessary hardware to conduct studies for human factors and optimization of space claim. However, recent advances in Virtual Reality (VR) and hand tracking technologies have enabled a paradigm shift to the process. The Ground Vehicle System Center has developed an innovative approach using VR technologies to enable a trade space exploration capability which provides crews the ability to place touchscreens and switch panels as desired, then lock them into place to perform a fully recorded simulation of operating the vehicle through a virtual terrain, maneuvering through firing points and engaging moving and static targets during virtual night and day missions with simulated sensor effects for infrared and night vision. Human factors are explored and studied using hand tracking which enables operators to check reach by interacting with virtual components
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