Collaborative Research: Synthesis of User Interfaces for Collaborative Systems in Uncertain Environments

合作项目的研究目标是综合从混合控制理论的可观性和估计技术，设计和验证昂贵的，高风险的，安全关键的协作系统（如航空电子和生物医学设备）的用户界面。用户界面为用户提供了观察底层自动化系统以及向系统应用输入的手段。 这项研究将开发确定性和随机性的方法，在正常和异常的操作条件下的系统。所开发的技术和算法将被设计为适应具有复杂信息需求、不可避免的不确定性和测量误差以及非平凡连续动态的环境，例如空中交通管制和飞机飞行管理系统中的环境。具体而言，本研究致力于发展1）基于可观察性的条件，以评估用户界面中信息内容的正确性（建模为具有离散按钮和连续指针型输入的混合系统），2）用于故障检测的模式估计技术（用于在异常条件下的操作）和显示元件的优先级，3）通过传感器调度的显示设计，以确定给定显示模式的信息的最佳组合，基于抽象的用户界面设计正确性条件（假设用户界面是标准和异常条件下实际底层系统的简化表示）。如果成功的话，这项研究的结果可以帮助识别人类自动化交互问题（如自动化惊喜，用户界面中包含的信息不足或过多，以及模式混乱）在协作系统构建，测试，部署之前，并可能在它们运行时。 通过本研究开发的控制算法和接口设计辅助工具是通用的，并且有潜力提高各个领域协作系统的有效性。 本研究计划将有助于人机交互社区的形式化方法，并专注于决策支持辅助设计的控制理论社区。 开发的理论、代码和数据将及时传播。 学生将受益于开发一个新的，多学科的研究生课程，在协同系统的控制，特别强调航空电子和空中交通应用，以及从指导和参与这项研究。

The research objective of collaborative project is to synthesize observability and estimation techniques from hybrid control theory to design and validate user-interfaces for expensive, high-risk, and safety-critical collaborative systems (e.g. avionics and biomedical devices). The user interface provides a means for the user to observe the underlying automated system as well as for the user to apply inputs to the system. This research will develop deterministic and stochastic methods for systems under both normal and abnormal operating conditions. The developed techniques and algorithms will be designed to accommodate environments that have complex information requirements, inevitable uncertainties and measurement errors, and nontrivial continuous dynamics, such as those found in air traffic control and aircraft flight management systems. Specifically, this research addresses the development of 1) observability-based conditions to assess the correctness of information content in user interfaces (modeled as hybrid systems with discrete push-button and continuous joystick-type inputs), 2) mode estimation techniques for fault detection (for operation under abnormal conditions) and a prioritization of display elements, 3) display design via sensor scheduling to determine the optimal combination of information for a given display mode, and 4) abstraction-based conditions for correctness of user-interface design (that assume the user interface is a reduced representation of the actual underlying system under standard and abnormal conditions). If successful, the results of this research could help identify human-automation interaction problems (such as automation surprises, inadequate or excessive information contained in the user interface, and mode confusion) in collaborative systems before they are built, tested, deployed, and possibly while they are operating. The control algorithms and interface design aids developed through this research are generic, and have potential to improve the effectiveness in collaborative systems in a variety of domains. This research plan will contribute to the formal methods in human computer interaction community, and to the control theory communities focused on the design of decision support aids. Developed theory, code, and data will be disseminated in a timely manner. Students will benefit through development of a new, multidisciplinary graduate course in control of collaborative systems, with particular emphasis on avionics and air traffic applications, as well as from mentoring and participation in this research.