Using Discrete-Event Simulation to Model Situational Awareness of Unmanned-Vehicle Operators

As the paradigm of operators supervising multiple unmanned vehicles becomes increasingly realizable, the impact on operator situational awareness of such a paradigm shift becomes very important. Quantifying the effects of alternate team configurations and system designs in terms of their impact on situational awareness is currently expensive, requiring time-consuming user studies. This paper presents an alternate method by which to study the impact on situational awareness in multi-UV control using a discrete event simulation model. A by-product of correctly quantifying operator situational awareness is the ability to use data to more accurately predict metrics such as mission performance and operator utilization. The paper also presents results from a user case study that was used to validate the effectiveness of using the discrete event simulation model to capture the effects on situational awareness as the size of the unmanned vehicle team being supervised is varied.