Individual Differences in UGV Operation

Abstract

Unmanned systems operations are complex, cognitively demanding tasks that elicit highly variable workload. The ability to predict performance and workload within these complex tasks can provide a powerful tool for practitioners regarding fit-for-duty verification. Further, monitoring workload aids in diagnostic assessment of factors that impact performance. The goal for this analysis was to examine the quality of cross-task averages of both baseline and concurrent psychophysiological and subjective measures to predict task performance and perceived workload. At a theoretical level, these findings suggest the need for a multivariate conceptualization of processing ‘resources’, encompassing both implicit and explicit responses. At a practical level, both subjective and psychophysiological measures may be necessary for optimizing performance prediction, at least for certain tasks.