Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are being utilized at an increasing rate for a number of military applications. The potential for their use in the national airspace is also of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration, but there are some concerns about the safety of flying unmanned aircraft. The role of a UAS operator differs from that of a pilot in a manned aircraft, and this new role creates a need for a shift in interface and task design in order to take advantage of the full potential of these systems. This study examined the effect of time pressure and task uncertainty have on autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle operator task performance and workload. Thirty undergraduate students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University participated in this study. The primary task was image identification, and secondary tasks consisted of responding to events encountered in typical UAS operations. Time pressure was found to produce a significant difference in subjective workload ratings as well as secondary task performance scores, while task uncertainty was found to produce a significant difference in the primary task performance scores. The results were examined, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are being utilized at an increasing rate for a number of military applications. The potential for their use in the national airspace is also of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration, but there are some concerns about the safety of flying unmanned aircraft. The role of a UAS operator differs from that of a pilot in a manned aircraft, and this new role creates a need for a shift in interface and task design in order to take advantage of the full potential of these systems. This study examined the effect of time pressure and task uncertainty have on autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle operator task performance and workload. Thirty undergraduate students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University participated in this study. The primary task was image identification, and secondary tasks consisted of responding to events encountered in typical UAS operations. Time pressure was found to produce a significant difference in subjective workload ratings as well as secondary task performance scores, while task uncertainty was found to produce a significant difference in the primary task performance scores. The results were examined, and recommendations for future research are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Petersen, Trevor"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Human Factors & Systems","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Human Factors and Systems","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dahai Liu","Shawn Michael Doherty","Dennis A. Vincenzi"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:45Z","subjects":["time pressure","task uncertainty","human factors","autonomous aerial vehicles","Aviation","Human Factors Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/165","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dahai Liu","Shawn Michael Doherty","Dennis A. Vincenzi"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Petersen, Trevor"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Human Factors and Systems"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Human Factors & Systems"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["time pressure","task uncertainty","human factors","autonomous aerial vehicles","Aviation","Human Factors Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/165"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are being utilized at an increasing rate for a number of military applications. The potential for their use in the national airspace is also of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration, but there are some concerns about the safety of flying unmanned aircraft. The role of a UAS operator differs from that of a pilot in a manned aircraft, and this new role creates a need for a shift in interface and task design in order to take advantage of the full potential of these systems. This study examined the effect of time pressure and task uncertainty have on autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle operator task performance and workload. Thirty undergraduate students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University participated in this study. The primary task was image identification, and secondary tasks consisted of responding to events encountered in typical UAS operations. Time pressure was found to produce a significant difference in subjective workload ratings as well as secondary task performance scores, while task uncertainty was found to produce a significant difference in the primary task performance scores. The results were examined, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effect of Time Pressure and Task Uncertainty on Human Operator Performance and Workload for Autonomous Aerial Vehicle Missions"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dahai Liu","Shawn Michael Doherty","Dennis A. Vincenzi"],"dc:creator":["Petersen, Trevor"],"dc:description.abstract":["Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are being utilized at an increasing rate for a number of military applications. The potential for their use in the national airspace is also of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration, but there are some concerns about the safety of flying unmanned aircraft. The role of a UAS operator differs from that of a pilot in a manned aircraft, and this new role creates a need for a shift in interface and task design in order to take advantage of the full potential of these systems. This study examined the effect of time pressure and task uncertainty have on autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle operator task performance and workload. Thirty undergraduate students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University participated in this study. The primary task was image identification, and secondary tasks consisted of responding to events encountered in typical UAS operations. Time pressure was found to produce a significant difference in subjective workload ratings as well as secondary task performance scores, while task uncertainty was found to produce a significant difference in the primary task performance scores. The results were examined, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/165"],"dc:subject":["time pressure","task uncertainty","human factors","autonomous aerial vehicles","Aviation","Human Factors Psychology"],"dc:title":["Effect of Time Pressure and Task Uncertainty on Human Operator Performance and Workload for Autonomous Aerial Vehicle Missions"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Human Factors and Systems"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Human Factors & Systems"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:45Z"}