A Comparison of Model-Based and Explicit Communication for Task Allocation

In a dynamic task allocation approach both the human and the computer are capable of performing the same tasks. This study compared two methods of human-computer communication for dynamic task allocation: explicit and model-based communication. With explicit communication the human directed the computer and the computer did not perform any actions on its own. With model-based communication the computer had a model of the human which predicted the human's actions and the computer used this model to work on its own. Subjects performed a process monitoring task using both of these allocation methods. In addition, in half the trials they had knowledge of the computer's actions and in the other half they did not. The results indicated that overall system performance was always better under model-based communication, although human performance alone was better with explicit communication. In addition, overall system and human scores were higher when the human had knowledge of the computer's actions.