EFFECTS OF ADAPTIVE TASK ALLOCATION ON MONITORING OF AUTOMATED SYSTEMS

The effects of adaptive task allocation on monitoring for automation f ailure during multitask flight simulation were examined. Participants monitored an automated engine status task while simultaneously perform ing tracking and fuel management tasks over three 30-min sessions. Two methods of adaptive task allocation, both involving temporary return of the automated engine status task to the human operator (''human con trol''), were examined as a possible countermeasure to monitoring inef ficiency. For the model-based adaptive group, the engine status task w as allocated to all participants in the middle of the second session f or 10 min, following which it was again returned to automation control . The same occurred for the performance-based adaptive group, but only if an individual participant's monitoring performance up to that poin t did not meet a specified criterion. For the nonadaptive control grou ps, the engine status task remained automated throughout the experimen t. All groups had low probabilities of detection of automation failure s for the first 40 min spent with automation. However, following the 1 0-min intervening period of human control, both adaptive groups detect ed significantly more automation failures during the subsequent blocks under automation control. The results show that adaptive task allocat ion can enhance monitoring of automated systems. Both model-based and performance-based allocation improved monitoring of automation. Implic ations for the design of automated systems are discussed.