Human-System Technology: Human-Robot Interaction to Address Critical Navy Needs of the Present and Future

The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition IHMC is pleased to submit a report of progress on the project Human Systems Technology for the 2005 fiscal year. This fiscal year work began on May 1, 2005 and was completed on July 31, 2006. Also called Human-Centered Computing, this multidisciplinary field exploits advances in cognitive research together with those in computer science and related areas to optimize the cognitive, perceptual, andor physical performance of experts and expert teams and the information systems that support them. The FY 2005 work focused in particular on the following 1 psychophysical studies of tactile interfaces for sensory substitution or augmentation in complex tasks 2 continued development of advanced algorithms for Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining KDD from large data sets and associated investigations of displays and training principles to improve human abilities to recognize causal relationships 3 fundamental studies of the trustworthiness of agents through a theory of adjustable autonomy and 4 fundamental studies of exoskeletons for human performance enhancement. The work in each of these areas reflects the growing appreciation for the enormous potential that information technology has to leverage and amplify human capabilities. Realization of this potential requires a deep understanding of human cognition, perception, andor locomotion the relevant areas of computer science and the nature of the human activity to be enabled. This report describes the progress that was made in each of these research areas in FY 2005. For each area the authors describe the objective of the work and the approach taken provide a concise progress statement and an expanded description of accomplishments and list relevant publications, awards, patents, and technology transfer activities.