Supervisory Presentation for Research, Information, Integration and Testing (SPRINT)

Unmanned aerial systems UAS are becoming an increasingly critical aspect of military operations. To meet this demand, the USAF is seeking ever more capable UASs, to include the ability of a single operator to simultaneously control multiple platforms, increased connectivity to net-centric information sources, and the ability to accomplish more complex, dynamic missions. To fulfill these missions, the USAF is exploring multi-vehicle UAS concepts to carry out tactical intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and combat missions. In many of these concepts there is an emphasis on managing UAS systems and conducting missions with minimal crew. UASs have evolved from being primarily remotely controlled systems to being pre-programmed or semi-autonomous, changing the role of the crew from flying to supervising. This change has opened the door to increasing the vehicle to operator ratio. While progress has been made in developing more capability with multi-vehicle systems e.g., more simultaneous vehicle orbits managed from one control station, further research is needed to better understand the challenges associated with multi-vehicle control across a broad range of missions and operational situations while maintaining the highest level of mission effectiveness.. To achieve these levels of mission effectiveness crew performance and capability enhancements are needed. Technology development and advanced designs are required to facilitate more timely and effective operator situation assessment and decision-making. This report describes activities performed during the development of interface technologies designed to improve supervisory control of multiple information sources 711 HPWRHCI, Work Unit 53290901, Supervisory Presentation for Research, Information, Integration and Testing SPRINT.