Activity and Cooperation in a Multi-Person Teleoperator Cockpit

Abstract

This experiment attempted to determine how members of a teleoperator crew use equipment and interact when performing remote maintenance tasks. The experiment used a modified process analysis technique to record how users performed two typical remote maintenance tasks.

Five people participated in the experiment. They were paired into teams representing several experience levels. Participants completed the tasks while two television cameras recorded their actions on videotape. Observers later scored the videotapes using the process analysis chart. The percent of time each participant spent engaged in each activity was calculated, as was the percent of time the participants cooperated and co-acted in the cockpit. This information will be helpful in designing future teleoperator cockpits and other related control rooms.