Aaron Roberts

Examining Social, Information, and Task Networks in Submarine Command and Control

Submarine control room operations have not changed much over the past 50 years, despite introduction of new technologies. This study sought to catalog current operations as a baseline for comparing new ways of working. Three scenarios were selected to be examined in both high and low demand: returning to periscope depth, dived tracking, and inshore operations. The scenarios were run in a submarine simulator with currently serving submariners from the Royal Navy. The flow of throughout the submarine command team was examined using event analysis for systemic teamwork (EAST). EAST models collaborative teamwork via three networks: task, social, and information. Results show that the social interactions, information transition, and focus of tasks are different depending on the particular operation being completed and the work demand placed on the command team. There are particular information elements that are fundamental across all scenario types. Task and communication load is not evenly distributed across the team, with potential bottlenecks identified between the sonar controller and operations officer roles. Implications of the results are discussed alongside recommendations for future research.

Extending helicopter operations to meet future integrated transportation needs

Helicopters have the potential to be an integral part of the future transport system. They offer a means of rapid transit in an overly populated transport environment. However, one of the biggest limitations on rotary wing flight is their inability to fly in degraded visual conditions in the critical phases of approach and landing. This paper presents a study that developed and evaluated a Head up Display (HUD) to assist rotary wing pilots by extending landing to degraded visual conditions. The HUD was developed with the assistance of the Cognitive Work Analysis method as an approach for analysing the cognitive work of landing the helicopter. The HUD was tested in a fixed based flight simulator with qualified helicopter pilots. A qualitative analysis to assess situation awareness and workload found that the HUD enabled safe landing in degraded conditions whilst simultaneously enhancing situation awareness and reducing workload. Continued development in this area has the potential to extend the operational capability of helicopters in the future.

Up periscope: understanding submarine command and control teamwork during a simulated return to periscope depth

A submarine is routinely required to return to periscope depth; however, a transition from deep to shallow waters is one the most dangerous operations due to the potential to collide with surface vessels. Submarine operations are not particularly well understood outside the immediate submarine community, particularly from a sociotechnical perspective. A submarine sounds and control room simulator was used to examine the work of ten teams. The Event Analysis of Systematic Teamwork method was used to model the social, task and information networks in order to describe team performance. Results showed that the sonar controller and operations officer are the busiest in the command team. Communication between these operators was revealed as a potential bottleneck in the command team, particularly during higher demand scenarios. The information communicated and tasks completed centred on the processing and understanding of sonar data. Implications are discussed alongside suggestions for future work.

Land Ahoy! Understanding Submarine Command and Control During the Completion of Inshore Operations:

Objective: The aim of this study was to use multiple command teams to provide empirical evidence for understanding communication flow, information pertinence, and tasks undertaken in a submarine control room when completing higher- and lower-demand inshore operation (INSO) scenarios. Background: The focus of submarine operations has changed, and submarines are increasingly required to operate in costal littoral zones. However, submarine command team performance during INSO is not well understood, particularly from a sociotechnical systems perspective. Method: A submarine control-room simulator was built. The creation of networked workstations allowed a team of nine operators to perform tasks completed by submarine command teams during INSO. The Event Analysis of Systematic Teamwork method was used to model the social, task, and information networks and to describe command team performance. Ten teams were recruited for the study, affording statistical comparisons of how command-team roles and level of demand affected performance. Results: Results indicated that the submarine command-team members are required to rapidly integrate sonar and visual data as the periscope is used, periodically, in a “duck-and-run” fashion, to maintain covertness. The fusion of such information is primarily completed by the operations officer (OPSO), with this operator experiencing significantly greater demand than any other operator. Conclusion: The OPSO was a bottleneck in the command team when completing INSO, experiencing similar load in both scenarios, suggesting that the command team may benefit from data synthesis tasks being more evenly distributed within the command team. Application: The work can inform future control-room design and command-team ways of working by identifying bottlenecks in terms of information and task flow between operators.

The Command Team Experimental Test-Bed Phase Two: Assessing Cognitive Load and Situation Awareness in a Submarine Control Room

The Command Team Experimental Test-Bed (ComTET) is a body of work examining the functionality of submarine command teams with an emphasis upon future ways of working. 10 teams of 8 participants (80 participants in total) received extensive training at one of the operator stations in the submarine control room simulator (e.g. sonar or periscope operator). The teams then completed 3 different scenarios under higher and lower work demand conditions. The Work Load (WL) and Situation Awareness (SA) of the command team was assessed using a variety of standardized subjective rating scales (e.g. NASA TLX), physiological measures (e.g. ECG), in play cognitive capacity assessments (e.g. duel task paradigm) and SA assessments. The communication(s) between all team members were recorded allowing the use of the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) method to examine performance. Preliminary results indicate that the WL of operators in a submarine command team varied as a result of scenario type and scenario demand. The initial results are discussed alongside future analysis plans.

Designing New Interfaces for Submarines: From Cognitive Work Analysis to Ecological Interface Design

Current submarine control rooms show a high degree of technical evolution, although future additions may cognitively overload operators. Additional sensors, capabilities and technology may prove difficult to effectively use for even the most trained operators. To mitigate this, the Command Team Experimental Test-Bed project aims to assess current methods of work, and how they can be improved. Cognitive Work Analysis will be used to assess current interfaces, with results informing new Ecological Interface Designs. It is anticipated that these new interfaces will reduce operator workload. This paper details how completed analyses are directly informing interfaces, ensuring that they meet required needs.

Use of highways in the sky and a virtual pad for landing head up display symbology to enable improved helicopter pilots situation awareness and workload in degraded visual conditions

Abstract Flight within degraded visual conditions is a great challenge to pilots of rotary-wing craft. Environmental cues typically used to guide interpretation of speed, location and approach can become obscured, forcing the pilots to rely on data available from in-cockpit instrumentation. To ease the task of flight during degraded visual conditions, pilots require easy access to flight critical information. The current study examined the effect of ‘Highways in the Sky’ symbology and a conformal virtual pad for landing presented using a Head Up Display (HUD) on pilots’ workload and situation awareness for both clear and degraded conditions across a series of simulated rotary-wing approach and landings. Results suggest that access to the HUD lead to significant improvements to pilots’ situation awareness, especially within degraded visual conditions. Importantly, access to the HUD facilitated pilot awareness in all conditions. Results are discussed in terms of future HUD development. Practitioner Summary: This paper explores the use of a novel Heads Up Display, to facilitate rotary-wing pilots’ situation awareness and workload for simulated flights in both clear and degraded visual conditions. Results suggest that access to HUD facilitated pilots’ situation awareness, especially when flying in degraded conditions.

Investigating Temporal Implications of Information Transition in Submarine Command Teams

Previous work revealed bottlenecks in information transition between submarine command team members, which may be detrimental to overall performance. To date, the potential impact of such bottlenecks in terms of time to pass critical information has not been investigated. An understanding of the temporal impact is critical, given the time critical nature of tactical picture generation. Four teams of eight participants (32 participants total) were recruited and trained at one of the operator stations in a bespoke built submarine control room simulator. Participants completed high and low demand Return to Periscope Depth scenarios. The timings of technology-human and human-human interactions were calculated. Preliminary results indicated that the largest temporal lag was the transition of human-human information. Furthermore, loss of information occurred with every stage of information transition. As demand increased, the efficiency of information transition was negatively impacted by increased communications between operators. Initial results are discussed along with future analysis plans.

Exploring Ecological Interface Design for Future ROV Capabilities in Maritime Command and Control

Future maritime command teams will process more data, a trend driven by continued technological advances and new sensors. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are contributing to this, as their usage is steadily growing in civilian and military contexts. A key challenge is effective integration of growing volumes of data into the command team, ensuring optimal performance for completing the variety of missions and tasks that may be required. In particular, operator cognitive capacity should not be exceeded, as this may negatively impact global team performance. A review of ROV usage revealed that they are predominately deployed to understand and interact with their environment. Ecological Interface Design (EID) aims to make system constraints apparent and reduce operator workload. As the aims of EID are synergistic with ROV operation, it is hypothesised that operator workload may be reduced if interfaces are implemented that adhere to these design principles. In the current work EID is proposed as a design paradigm for ROV UIs, to facilitate optimal future performance.

Assessing sonar and target motion analysis stations in a submarine control room using cognitive work analysis

As part of the Command Team Experimental Test-bed project a submarine control room simulator was constructed. Subject Matter Expert advice was sought throughout to ensure fidelity. However, no dedicated analysis was performed to validate the final result. To resolve this a comparison of Work Domain Analysis outputs was completed to identify levels of fidelity present within the simulator. Outputs were generated from a study at HMS Drakes Talisman, which were compared to previously completed outputs of the simulation facility.