Quantifying performance in human-robotic integrated operations for spaceflight applications: a mission-driven approach
Résumé
As the global space exploration community moves towards the exploration of the Moon and beyond, so mustthe preparation of crew operations. Given the distinct operational requirements of human lunar explorationscenarios compared to the on-going ISS operations, the study of human-robotic integrated operations (HRIO)is key in the endeavour of mankind’s return to the Moon and enabling a sustainable exploration strategy.Moving beyond qualitative performance assessments of HRIO, one particular issue for exploration destinationsare time-delay conditions, and therefore the step must be made towards quantifying performance in theseoperations such that both crew and system designs are prepared accordingly. Based on the pilot studypreviously presented in Hosseini et al. [1], the current paper presents a mission-driven experiment campaignset up to study human performance regarding the ESA-led HERACLES mission, a proposed sub-scaletele-operated demonstrator mission aiming to prepare international partners for human lunar missions. Atargeted geological site in a lunar crater is set up in an analogue environment at ESA allowing a roverto be tele-operated. The knowledge gap in HRIO is challenged in this study, since reaching this level ofhuman-robotic partnership requires an unprecedented understanding of the interaction between the humanand robotic system. The approach to fill this gap is to quantify objectively the HRIO performance forspaceflight applications, by studying human and robotic elements as two separate yet cooperating systems.16 participants were instructed to drive the rover through an obstacle course using a controller and camera asinterface to the rover. Three mission-driven time-delay conditions were applied to simulate different controlconfigurations, i.e. 3.5s, 0.5s, and 0s representing control from ground, cis-lunar space, and lunar surface,respectively, assuming the rover is driving on the lunar surface. The experiment is set up such that human performance metrics are acquired following a neuroergonomics approach, focusing on the cardiovascularactivity to infer participant’s mental workload, and ocular behaviour, to measure attentional abilities. Inparallel, robotic metrics are acquired through the hardware and software output of the rover. Studyinghuman and robotic data output recorded in parallel allows quantification of the level of mental workloadunder the delay conditions and the resulting effects on the HRIO performance. This approach is believed toadvance the level of detail and understanding of HRIO as known to date, subsequently identifying the keyelements to prepare astronauts for future missions
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