Level Of Situation Awareness Research Articles

Improving Skills and Perception in Robot Navigation by an Augmented Virtuality Assistance System

Successful navigation in a teleoperation scenario requires a good level of situational or environmental awareness. This paper presents the main features and capabilities of a new augmented virtuality-based system aimed at providing users with improved perception of the robot's remote environment. With this purpose, a mixed-perspective exocentric display (ME3D), and a video centric display (VC2D) are compared. Both interfaces were implemented on a mobile robot and experiments were performed in a real working scenario. To assess this contribution, this works analyzes the teleoperation capability, performance, and human workload of users by means of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index). The results show that participants experienced a reduction in the driving workload and showed high degrees of acceptance for the proposed ME3D interface.

Research of Human Factors under Automatic ATC System

This paper is to assess the impact of ATC automation on controller workload, situation awareness, teamwork and mutual trust, and solve the relationship between human and ATC automation system collaboration. Based on experiment statistics, the method of mathematical statistics has been used to carry on overall analysis, significance analysis and correlation analysis. As a result, in the new generation ATC automation system, the overall level of controllers workload, situation awareness, teamwork and mutual trust is relatively higher than that under traditional condition, along with the increase of the controller work experience, the teamwork consciousness and situation awareness are stronger, the workload is lower, the ATC automation system of mutual trust is higher. Teamwork, workload and mutual trust have a significant positive correlation.

Exploring perinatal shift‐to‐shift handover communication and process: an observational study

Loss of situation awareness (SA) by health professionals during handover is a major threat to patient safety in perinatal care. SA refers to knowing what is going on around. Adequate handover communication and process may support situation assessment, a precursor of SA. This study describes current practices and opinions of perinatal handover to identify potential improvements. Structured direct observations of shift-to-shift patient handovers (n = 70) in an academic perinatal setting were used to measure handover communication (presence and order of levels of SA: current situation, background, assessment and recommendation) and process (duration, interruptions/distractions, eye contact, active inquiry and reading information back). Afterwards, receivers' opinions of handover communication (n = 51) were measured by means of a questionnaire. All levels of SA were present in 7% of handovers, the current situation in 86%, the background in 99%, an assessment in 24% and a recommendation in 46%. In 77% of handovers the background was mentioned first, followed by the current situation. Forty-four per cent of handovers took 2 minutes or more per patient. In 52% distractions occurred, in 43% there was no active inquiry, in 32% no eye contact and in 97% information was not read back. The overall mean of the receivers' opinions of handover communication was 4.1 (standard deviation ± 0.7; scale 1-5, where 5 is excellent). Perinatal handovers are currently at risk for inadequate situation assessment because of variability and limitations in handover communication and process. However, receivers' opinions of handover communication were very positive, indicating a lack of awareness of patient safety threats during handover. Therefore, the staff's awareness of current limitations should be raised, for example through video reflection or simulation training.

Load Curve Data Cleansing and Imputation Via Sparsity and Low Rank

The smart grid vision is to build an intelligent power network with an unprecedented level of situational awareness and controllability over its services and infrastructure. This paper advocates statistical inference methods to robustify power monitoring tasks against the outlier effects owing to faulty readings and malicious attacks, as well as against missing data due to privacy concerns and communication errors. In this context, a novel load cleansing and imputation scheme is developed leveraging the low intrinsic-dimensionality of spatiotemporal load profiles and the sparse nature of "bad data.'' A robust estimator based on principal components pursuit (PCP) is adopted, which effects a twofold sparsity-promoting regularization through an $\ell_1$-norm of the outliers, and the nuclear norm of the nominal load profiles. Upon recasting the non-separable nuclear norm into a form amenable to decentralized optimization, a distributed (D-) PCP algorithm is developed to carry out the imputation and cleansing tasks using networked devices comprising the so-termed advanced metering infrastructure. If D-PCP converges and a qualification inequality is satisfied, the novel distributed estimator provably attains the performance of its centralized PCP counterpart, which has access to all networkwide data. Computer simulations and tests with real load curve data corroborate the convergence and effectiveness of the novel D-PCP algorithm.

Situation awareness and documentation of changes that affect patient outcomes in progress notes

To report on registered nurses' situation awareness as a precursor to decision-making when recording changes in patients' conditions. Progress notes are important to communicate patients' progress and detail changes in patients' conditions. However, documentation is often poorly completed. There is little work that examines nurses' decision-making during documentation. This study focused on describing situation awareness as a precursor to decision-making during documentation. This study used Endsley's (Situation Awareness Analysis and Measurement, 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, NJ) work on situation awareness to guide and conceptualise information. The study was situated in a naturalistic paradigm to provide an interpretation of nurses' decision-making. Think-aloud research methods and semi-structured interviews were employed to illuminate decision-making processes. Audio recordings and interview texts were individually examined for evidence of cues, informed by Endsley's (Situation Awareness Analysis and Measurement, 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, NJ) descriptions of situation awareness. As patients' conditions changed, nurses used complex mental models and pattern-matching of information, drawing on all 3 levels of situation awareness during documentation. Level 1 situation awareness provided context, level 2 situation awareness signified a change in condition and its significance for the patient, and level 3 situation awareness was evident when nurses thought aloud about what this information indicated. Three themes associated with changes in patients' conditions emerged: deterioration in condition, not responding to prescribed treatments as expected and issues related to professional practice that impacted on patients' conditions. Nurses used a complex mental model for decision-making, drawing on 3 levels of situation awareness. Hamm's cognitive continuum theory, when related to situation awareness, is a useful decision-making theory to provide a platform on which to draw together components of situation awareness and provide a framework on which to base decision-making regarding documentation. Understanding how RNs employ situation awareness and providing a framework for decision-making during documentation may assist effective documentation about changes in patients' conditions.

Research on Spatial Cognition Training Based on the Digital Earth

Spatial Cognition ability reflects the level of real-time spatial orientation and situation awareness of pilots during flight, which is one of important factors that determines the level of flight ability. This paper explains the Spatial Cognition principle and training methods, and researches training methods of Spatial Cognition based on the 3D virtual geographic environment of Digital Earth, striving to break through bottleneck of the traditional Spatial Cognition training methods.

Sonification as Sensemaking in Control Room Applications

Traditional analog alarms are nearly always exclusively binary, resulting in a single audio signal display sounding in order to inform users of a particular system parameter which has varied from within its predefined limits. During emergency situations, users can be faced with multiple simultaneous alarms, each relaying information concerning different, but usually related, system parameters. Using advanced sonification principles, achieved real-time with digital sound manipulation according to established human factors principles, new multi-parameter alarms can be created to better inform users of suboptimal conditions. These high-tech alarms also serve to help users maintain high levels of situational awareness, while aiding in sensemaking and decreasing stress caused by alarm flooding and cognitive overload.

Assessing the Impact of Insufficient Situation Awareness on Power System Operation

Situation awareness is a key factor in preserving power system security, as it enables effective and timely decision-making and reactions by the operators to an incident. Insufficient situation awareness results in a delayed, incorrect or deficient response, endangering power system stability. This factor was actually identified as one of the main causes of several electrical disturbances in the last decade. This paper identifies numerous factors that govern the formation of situation awareness in a power system control center. A multi-state model based on Markov modeling is proposed for assessing the impact of insufficient situation awareness on the probability of power system blackouts. The proposed model considers the level of situation awareness and the state of the information infrastructure. The workings of this model are illustrated using the IEEE 24-bus Reliability Test System.

Sugammadex to rescue a ‘can't ventilate’ scenario in an anticipated difficult intubation: is it the answer?

Sugammadex to rescue a ‘can't ventilate’ scenario in an anticipated difficult intubation: is it the answer?

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS VS. A PILOT’S DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

ABSTRACT This article describes the impact of a pilot’s situational awareness (SA) on the quality of decisions that are made by him or her. Situational awareness has been defined as a state and as a process. The article also refers to how the situational awareness and the decision-making process interact. The decision-making process and its components have been defined. Based on author’s own research as well as conclusions drawn from the subject’s literature, the importance of an acceptable SA level for the correct progress of a pilot’s decision-making process (and the likelihood of making a good decision) has been pointed out.

Experimental Evaluation of a Coplanar Airborne Separation Display

Two experiments, an active conflict resolution task and a passive situation awareness assessment, were conducted that compared two versions of a constraint-based coplanar airborne separation assistance display. A baseline display showed a maneuver space based on 2-D projections of traffic and performance constraints. A second augmented display also incorporated cutting planes that take the dimension orthogonal to the projection into account, thereby providing a more precise visualization of traffic constraints. Results showed that although pilots performed well with either display, the augmented display scored consistently better in terms of performance, efficiency of conflict resolutions, the amount of errors in the initial resolutions, and the level of situation awareness compared with the baseline display. On the other hand, more losses of separation were found with the augmented display, as pilots tried to maximize the maneuvering efficiency according to the precision with which constraints were visualized.

An experimental analysis of situation awareness for cockpit display interface evaluation based on flight simulation

Aircraft cockpit display interface (CDI) is one of the most important human–machine interfaces for information perceiving. During the process of aircraft design, situation awareness (SA) is frequently considered to improve the design, as the CDI must provide enough SA for the pilot to maintain the flight safety. In order to study the SA in the pilot-aircraft system, a cockpit flight simulation environment is built up, which includes a virtual instrument panel, a flight visual display and the corresponding control system. Based on the simulation environment, a human-in-the-loop experiment is designed to measure the SA by the situation awareness global assessment technique (SAGAT). Through the experiment, the SA degrees and heart rate (HR) data of the subjects are obtained, and the SA levels under different CDI designs are analyzed. The results show that analyzing the SA can serve as an objective way to evaluate the design of CDI, which could be proved from the consistent HR data. With this method, evaluations of the CDI design are performed in the experimental flight simulation environment, and optimizations could be guided through the analysis.

Speaking Up

How often have we seen something that was a potential hazard or risk, yet we walked on by? How often have we heard the line, “If anyone was going to have an accident, we knew it would be him/her?” When this happens, it reflects a culture wherein we believe that someone else will speak up or “handle it.” At the pointed end of the spear in our air medical community, the final barrier on Reason's Swiss cheese model is us—the pilots and crew members who head into the dark night. At this point, there is no one else to “handle it.” If we are not ever vigilant and do not maintain the highest level of situational awareness, then the adverse results can easily follow. One can have superbly designed safety management systems and neat looking bulletin boards and posters, but if we are not always aware and ready to spot potential gremlins, then we can miss the critical piece of the puzzle that would have stopped a potential accident in its tracks. Awareness is just part of the problem; action is the key. A strong safety culture insures that when any trouble is spotted, it is dealt with. If the pilot is pushing into weather that makes us uncomfortable or a crew member is exhibiting potentially unsafe behavior, the time to speak up is now, not later. There may not be a “later.” That sometimes means very simply speaking up and feeling comfortable doing just that. A just culture is the operative term here. “A just culture recognizes that individual practitioners should not be held accountable for system failings over which they have no control. A just culture also recognizes that many individual or active errors represent predictable interactions between human operators and the system in which they work. However, in contrast to a culture that touts no blame as its governing principle, a just culture does not tolerate conscious disregard of clear risks to patients or gross misconduct, such as falsifying a record, performing professional duties while intoxicated, etc.” 1 Brunt BA. Health Leaders Media, May 18, 2010. Google Scholar

Flight Test of a Radar-Based Tracking System for UAS Sense and Avoid

Presented here is an analysis of an extensive flight campaign aimed at characterizing peculiarities, advantages, and limitations of an obstacle detection and tracking system based on a pulse radar. The hardware and software prototypical sensing system was installed onboard an optionally piloted flying laboratory from the very light aircraft (VLA) category. Test flights with a single intruder aircraft of the same class were carried out to demonstrate autonomous noncooperative unmanned aerial system (UAS) collision avoidance capability and to evaluate the level of achievable situational awareness. First, the adopted architecture and the developed tracking algorithm are presented. Subsequently, flight data gathered in various relative flight geometries, covering chasing flights and quasi-frontal encounters, are analyzed in terms of radar performance, including detection range and range and angle measurement accuracies. The analysis describes the impact of ground echoes and navigation uncertainties, system tracking reliability, and achievable accuracy in estimation of relative position and velocity. On the basis of Global Positioning System (GPS) data gathered simultaneously with obstacle detection flight experiments, a detailed error analysis is conducted. Special emphasis is given to the validation of proposed methodology to separate between intruder and ground echoes, which is a critical aspect for light aircraft due to their limited radar cross sections (RCS) and flight altitudes. In conclusion the radar demonstrates its potential to attain adequate situational awareness, however the limits of single sensor tracking are also pointed out. Above all the negative impact of poor angular accuracy on missed detection and false alarm rates is pointed out.

Remote Control Station Design and Testing for Tele-Operated Space-Missions

Space environ ment is inherently hostile and dangerous for astronauts. Since extra -vehicu lar activity (EVA ) should be limited or assisted as much as possible, the significant role of robot ic systems is of notable relevance. Tele-navigation of ground rovers in hostile and unknown environments is one of the applicable p roblems for modern planetary exp loration missions. Pilots involved in these missions should be supported with intelligent and adaptive Hu man-Machine Interfaces (HM Is) able to guarantee a high level of situation awareness and an affordable mental workload. This paper aims to illustrate the approach used to design, test and assess a Remote Control Station (RCS) fo r ground missions . The RCS is used to remotely operate a 4-wheel drive scaled vehicle, representing a min i-rover for space exp loration. The complete system includes the control station and the vehicle, all based on off-the-shelf components. The rover is used as a tool to assess operators situation awareness provided through the Graphic User Interface (GUI). This research activity is part of the project STEPS - a research project co-financed by Pied mont Region.

Shifts in air traffic controllers’ situation awareness during high altitude mixed equipage operations

Studies of future airspace design often predict that automated tools will be available to assist the controller and sometimes complete tasks independently of controller intervention. How this redistribution of functions will change the role of the controller needs to be considered, as does its impact on the controller’s awareness of aircraft movement in their sector. In a study of high altitude operations in future airspace where aircraft were equipped with different levels of data communications capabilities, it was found that about half of the participants positively attributed the contribution of the automation as assisting their own level of situation awareness (SA) – and hence perceived themselves as being in a better position in terms of SA under more automated / equipped conditions. Whereas the other half of the participants, who did not consider the automation to assist their situation awareness, perceived themselves as having higher SA under conditions that were closer to the current day. With increased reliance on automation and higher expected traffic volume in the future, controllers will need to rethink what constitutes as their SA since they will no longer be able to have a complete awareness of their airspace as they do now. Insights into new SA strategies that can factor automation’s contribution and integrate it into controllers’ awareness could be helpful in future training and tool design.

Effects of hazard exposure and roadway complexity on young and older driver situation awareness and performance

Few previous studies of driver situation awareness (SA) have focused on behavior in hazard negotiation. The objective of this research was to assess the effect of hazard exposure on driver SA and interactions with age and roadway complexity. Ten young (18-25 yrs) and ten older (65-81 yrs) participants drove in a simulator under two levels of environment complexity (simple - rural vs. complex - city) with two types of hazard exposure (static vs. dynamic). Situation awareness was measured using real-time probes posed by a confederate passenger. Driving performance was assessed in terms of lane maintenance and speed control. Results revealed hazards to cause degradations in high level of driver SA and speed control or to trigger adaptation, and vulnerability to hazard type was dependent on driver age. Older drivers exhibited greater speed reduction in response to dynamic hazards; whereas, young driver maintained higher speed, as compared to normal driving, when confronted with static hazards. In addition, increased roadway environment complexity compounded decrements in performance caused by hazard exposure. These findings are applicable to modeling driver behavior and SA under hazardous conditions and may support the design of new in-vehicle assistive technologies for hazard avoidance.

Driving experience and situation awareness in hazard detection

How does driving experience help in the development of situation awareness? A comparison of detection rates of roadway hazards that involved other road users by inexperienced and experienced car drivers and experienced motorcycle riders with car driving experience was conducted under laboratory conditions. Motorcycle rider-drivers, due to their greater breadth of road experiences, were predicted to have an advantage over other road users in the detection of hazards. Two types of hazards abrupt-onset events and gradual-onset hazards were examined. Abrupt-onset events capture attention by virtue of sudden movement and risk of impending collision, as when a pedestrian runs into the roadway for example. It was expected that these hazards would be detected regardless of experience or situation awareness. Gradual-onset hazards require the anticipation of unfolding events as recognition of the danger from children playing on the footpath, and as such are a test of advanced situation awareness. The results showed no inexperienced–experienced driver differences in the detection of either type of hazard, eliminating hazard-type as an explanation of previous inconsistencies. However, motorcycle rider-drivers detected gradual-onset hazards faster than car drivers and they also perceived more hazards in relatively safe sections of roadway, that is, they showed a higher level of situation awareness.

Stress, fatigue, situation awareness and safety in offshore drilling crews

Drilling for oil and gas on offshore installations is a hazardous occupation, and requires personnel to maintain high levels of work situation awareness (WSA). This paper presents a self-report scale developed to measure the WSA of drilling personnel, and examines the influence of the performance shaping factors of stress and fatigue upon WSA, and the relationship between WSA, unsafe behaviour and accident involvement. A questionnaire designed to measure these variables was completed by 185 drillers working offshore on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The total WSA scale was found to exhibit acceptable internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.86). Sub-scales measuring concentration; attention; anticipation and distraction had coefficients between 0.65 and 0.79. Higher levels of stress, sleep disruption and fatigue were significantly associated with lower levels of WSA. In a regression analysis, stress was found to be the only significant predictor of WSA. In relation to safety outcomes, lower WSA was related to increased participation in unsafe behaviour. Individuals who had previously been involved in a work accident had significantly lower WSA scores than those who had not had an accident.

Three levels of situation awareness in driving with secondary tasks

It is assumed that drivers are able to adapt their interaction with secondary tasks to the demands of driving. To do so, they need to be situationally aware of the current driving situation. Three levels are proposed through which drivers adapt their interaction with a secondary task to the demands of driving. On the planning level, more general strategies – like always stopping the vehicle prior to the performance of a secondary task – can be found. On the decision level, drivers decide for a given driving situation whether distraction is appropriate or not. Last, as soon as a secondary task has been started, drivers adapt their interaction with the secondary task to the demands of driving through processes on the control level. This is done for instance by adapting the distribution of attention between driving and the secondary task. Results from an experiment in the driving simulation with N=16 drivers are presented that support all three proposed levels. It is concluded that there are different possibilities to adapt interaction with secondary tasks to driving in a situationally aware manner and that drivers use these possibilities to preserve driving safety.