Effects of Visual Communication Tool and Separable Status Display on Team Performance and Subjective Workload in Air Battle Management; Conference paper

摘要

Tactical Air Battle Managers, such as AWACS Weapons Directors (WDs), perform as a team to effect command and control (C2) of assigned forces by planning, organizing, and directing operations. Specifically, AWACS WDs must coordinate offensive counter-air, defensive counter-air, and air refueling operations. AWACS WD teams accomplish their C2 function through networked collaboration that is typically supported by monitoring multiple radio communications channels under conditions of moderate to high ambient cabin noise while performing several visual and manual tasks. The purpose of this study is to compare team performance and subjective workload on a simulated AWACS scenario, for two conditions of communication (Voice-only, and Voice augmented with a Visual Communication Tool), and using two supplementary display conditions (Separable Status Display and No-Separable Status Display). Team performance measures on the AWACS scenario include (1) the percentage of enemy targets that were allowed to penetrate friendly airspace, (2) the percentage of high value assets destroyed (i.e., the air base, infantry units, and tanker aircraft), (3) the percentage of fighter assets that were lost due to fuel depletion or enemy attack, (4) the average time of enemy target prosecution.