The Human Factor in ‘Lights-Out’ Automation: Using Field Study Data to Identify Critical Human Factors Design Issues

Abstract

Operations automation is a computer-based system that attempts to encode operator expertise, typically the expertise of personnel in charge of complex dynamic systems. The use of automation to replace operators is becoming a serious option in many systems, some of which are safety critical. One application of operations automation is ‘lights-out’ automation, that is, systems in which there are no operators to ‘tend’ the system. If an error occurs, the system remotely pages an operator who evaluates the problem. This paper is predicated on the assumption that even the best-designed automation requires human interaction, since, for the foreseeable future, all automation will inevitably fail at some point in time. Automated systems that attempt to emulate human expertise are likely to fail even more often, as building robust systems of this type remains a challenging research issue. Thus, identifying and addressing design issues for operations automation are critical components to ensure safe and productive systems. Design issues include the ability to elicit and encode robust expert knowledge, as well as supporting human-automation interaction with operations personnel when the system reaches its inevitable limits, and with engineers and software designers who must ensure that the system does not fail the same way more than once. This paper describes two field studies of operations automation fielded at NASA for satellite control. The purpose is to understand how and why such automation fails and design issues that facilitate or degrade human-automation interaction.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abbott

(1996). The interfaces between flightcrews and modern flight deck systems. Washington, D.C.: Federal Aviation Administration.

Aviation Week and Space Technology. (1995a). Automated cockpits: Who's in charge? Part 1. January 30th, 52–53.

Aviation Week and Space Technology. (1995b). Automated cockpits: Who's in charge? Part 2. February 6th, 52–53.

Brann

D. M.

Thurman

D. A.

Mitchell

C. M.

(1996). Human interaction with lights-out automation: A field study. Proceedings of the 1996 Symposium on Human Interaction in Complex Systems, Dayton, OH, 276–283.

Buchanan

B. G.

Smith

R. G.

(1993). Fundamentals of expert systems. In Buchanan

B. G.

Wilkins

D. C.

, Knowledge Acquisition and Learning (pp. 127–148). San Manteo, CA: Kaufman.

Campbell

(1998). When opportunity knocks. Cognitive Times, 3(1), 2–3.

Giarrantano

J. C.

(1993). CLIPS User's Guide. (JSC-25013). Houston, TX: NASA Johnson Space Center.

Hartley

Hughes

(1996). Automation of satellite operations: Experiences and future directions at NASA GSFC. Proceedings of the 1996 International Symposium on Space Mission Operations and Ground Data Systems, Munich, Germany, #SO96.8.07.

Hartley

Luczak

Stump

D. M.

(1996). Spacecraft control center automation using the generic inferential executor (Genie). Proceedings of the 1996 International Symposium on Space Mission Operations and Ground Data Systems, Munich, Germany, #SO96.6.15.

10.

Hughes

P. A.

Shirah

G. W.

Luczak

E. C.

(1994). Using graphics and expert system technologies to support satellite monitoring at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Ground Data Systems for Space Mission Operations, Greenbelt, Maryland, #Op.4.D.

11.

Hughes

P. M.

(1988). CLEAR: Automating control centers with expert system technology. SOAR Conference on Space Operations, Automation, and Robotics, Johnson Space Center, TX.

12.

Leveson

N. G.

(1995). Safeware: System safety and computers. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley.

13.

Luczak

Stump

(1994). Operations Concept for the SAMPEX Pass Automation Demonstration.(DSTL-94-003): Data Systems Technology Division, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA.

14.

Parasuraman

Mouloua

(1996). Automation and human performance: Theory and applications. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

15.

Sarter

N. B.

Woods

D. D.

(1997). Team play with a powerful and independent agent: Operational experiences and automation surprises on the Airbus A-320. Human Factors, 39(4), 553–569.

16.

Schreiber

A. T.

Birmingham

W. P.

(1996). Editorial: The Sysyphus-VT initiative. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 44, 275–280.

17.

Shaiken

(1985). The automated factory: The view from the shop floor. Technology Review, January, 17–25.

18.

Sheridan

T. B.

Johannsen

(1976). Monitoring behavior and supervisory control. New York, NY: Plenum.

19.

Thurman

D. A.

(1997). The interactive monitoring and control (IMaC) design methodology: Application and empirical results. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 41st Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM, 289–293.

20.

Thurman

D. A.

Mitchell

C. M.

(1998). Apprentice: A technique for building operations automation. Proceedings of the 1998 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Chicago, IL, to appear.

21.

Van Cott

H. P.

Wiener

E. L.

Wickens

C. D.

Blackman

H. S.

Sheridan

T. B.

(1996). Smart automation enhances safety: A motion for debate. Ergonomics in Design, October, 19–23.

22.

Weiner

A. J.

Thurman

D. A.

Mitchell

C. M.

(1996). FIXIT: An architecture to support recognition-primed decision making in complex system fault management. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 40th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 209–213.

23.

Wiener

E. L.

Curry

R. E.

(1980). Flight-deck automation: Promises and problems. Ergonomics, 23(10), 995–1011.