Developing a Context Framework to Support Appropriate Trust and Implementation of Automation

Abstract

Despite the widespread application of automated systems, use of automation can be problematic if inappropriate trust is placed in the systems. To be most effective, automated systems should be designed to promote appropriate trust from the individuals who interact with them. We propose that a key contributor to achieving appropriate trust in automation is an understanding of the context in which the human-automation team functions. Context encompasses many factors related to the automated system, the human operator, the operational environment, and the missions being performed. This paper describes the development of a conceptual framework that links human-automation team tasks to impactful context factors to promote shared awareness within the team and appropriate trust and usage of the automation. Development of the context framework was based on a review of the trust in automation scientific literature, supplemented by interviews with subject-matter experts (SMEs) in the unmanned system domain.