Human Factors in the Triton Ground Control Station

Human Factors in the Triton Ground Control Station

Ground control stations (GCS) for unmanned aerospace systems (UAS) take many forms depending upon the size and complexity of the system.  Austin (2010) wrote, “control stations, like the aircraft, come in all shapes and sizes and are staffed appropriately to the number and specialty of the tasks which they are required to perform” (p. 185).  GCS can range from simple hand held devices, to a single laptop computer, to mobile systems of networked computers and monitors, to fixed based stations with satellite links and a team of operators.

Ground control stations are used to send command and control (C2) information to the UAS.  GCS may also be used to direct the operation of UAS payloads and sensors when applicable.  Austin (2010) described the GCS as the “man-machine interface with the unmanned air vehicle (or air vehicles) system” (p. 183).  The GCS may also be used to receive information such as vehicle telemetry status and sensor images or data from the UAS via down-links (Austin, 2010).  Another factor that determines the complexity of the GCS is the operational distance between the GCS and the UAS.  UAS operated within line of sight (LOS) of the operator are much less complex than GCS used for UAS operations beyond the line of sight (BLOS) of the operator.

The most complex level of GCS are required for UAS that are designed for high altitude, long endurance (HALE) missions BLOS of the operator (Austin, 2010).  “Systems such as Predator and Global Hawk may launch their aircraft from a GCS on airfields relatively close to the theatre of operation but, after launch, be controlled from a command center which may be up to two thousand kilometers away” (Austin, 2010, p. 193).  This type of GCS requires two way, satellite linked, BLOS capabilities for transmission of C2, telemetry, and payload data.  To picture this type of GCS picture the TV images that show the inside of a NASA control room.

According to Naval-technology.com (n.d.), the Triton UAS “is operated from ground stations manned by four-man crew including an air vehicle operator, a mission commander and two sensor operators” (Ground Control Station).  In addition to the flight crew outlined above, complex UASs such as the Triton may be monitored by a crew of engineers specializing in various subsystems of the air vehicle.  This crew of engineers could dramatically increase the total number of humans either directly involved in controlling the UAS or providing decision-making input.  Since the Triton UAS “can fly 24 hours a day, seven days a week with 80% effective time on station (ETOS)" (Naval-technology.com, n.d., Ground Control Station); there is a high potential for human factors to negatively impact the flight operation.

Two negative human factors that may arise when so many people have access to the Triton GCS over such an extended flight duration are complacency and miscommunication.  Complacency can creep into the flight operation when one member of the team incorrectly assumes that another member is monitoring a system or flight parameter and will take corrective action if necessary should an anomaly arise.  Miscommunications may be experienced between members of the team when non-standard terminology is used or when checklists and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are not adhered to.  In both cases, complacency and miscommunication, the most effective way to mitigate risk is to enforce the use of prescribed terminology and adherence to checklists and SOPs.

References

Austin, R. (2010). Unmanned aircraft systems: UAVS design, development and deployment. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Naval-technology.com. (n.d.). MQ-4C Triton Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAS, United States of America. Retrieved from http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/mq-4c-triton-bams-uas-us/