Mixed-initiative strategies for real-time scheduling of multiple unmanned vehicles

• Main Authors: Clare, Andrew S. (Contributor), Macbeth, Jamie C. (Contributor), Cummings, M. L. (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2013-10-01T15:28:37Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 Advances in autonomy have made it possible to invert the typical operator-to-unmanned vehicle ratio so that a single operator can now control multiple heterogeneous Unmanned Vehicles (UVs). Real-time scheduling and task assignment for multiple UVs in uncertain environments will require the computational ability of optimization algorithms combined with the judgment and adaptability of human supervisors through mixed-initiative systems. The goal of this paper is to analyze the interactions between operators and scheduling algorithms in two human- in-the-loop multiple UV control experiments. The impact of real-time operator modifications to the objective function of an optimization algorithm for multi-UV scheduling is described. Results from outdoor multiple UV flight tests using a human-computer collaborative scheduling system are presented, which provide valuable insight into the impact of environmental uncertainty and vehicle failures on system effectiveness.