Abstract
Since teleoperation will be a required feature of future space systems, it will be necessary to select and train individuals to operate these remotely controlled manipulator systems. Training for this type of activity will be extremely time-consuming and costly; consequently, it would be advantageous to train only those individuals who are best-suited for the task. A study conducted at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, attempted to construct a selection instrument composed of aptitude tests and questionnaire items that could be used for identifying individuals with an aptitude for teleoperation. Seventeen engineers from MSFC were given a 16-item questionnaire and three psychological aptitude tests designed to measure basic intelligence and spatial abilities. The aptitude test scores and the questionnaire responses were then correlated with actual teleoperator performance. The results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that the eight predictor variables individually were not significant with respect to operator performance, but as a whole, the regression model accounted for 49 percent of subject variance on the criterion task.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.