Real-Time Gaze Sharing Techniques and Their Influence on Performance and Shared Situational Awareness of Teammates in UAV C2 Operations

Abstract

Situational awareness (SA) is vital for coordination and safety in complex domains. However, the lack of focus on shared SA (SSA) between teammates undermines effective teamwork. Gaze sharing allows partners to view each other’s gaze points on their respective displays while completing their tasks. Understanding how performance and SSA are influenced by gaze sharing is critical but understudied in dynamic contexts. In this study, 35 teams completed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) command-and-control (C2) tasks using different visualization techniques. SSA scores were the highest with the fixation trail, correlating positively with target detection accuracy. SSA scores were lower in the no gaze sharing condition and the lowest while using the fixation dot. These findings underscore the importance of visualization methods in shaping SSA and task performance. If gaze sharing is used, the results here show that there is a need to select appropriate visualization techniques to support team SSA and performance.