UAS GCS Human Factors Issue

I am going to focus on Aerovironment’s Ground Control Station (GCS) which is a common command and control solution for their family of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) (Aerovironment, 2014).  The GCS (see Figure 1) is a compact, lightweight handheld piece of equipment designed for military use.  It is dustproof, waterproof and made of a high density plastic built for abuse.  It is designed for mobile use so the small size allows the operator to carry it within a backpack and it sets up in less than two minutes (Aerovironment, 2014).  The interoperability of the GCS allows the operator to use the GCS with the whole Aerovironment’s line of sUAS (Raven, Wasp, and Puma AE). 

Figure 1 – Aerovironment’s Ground Control Station

The GCS incorporates a small screen in order to see real-time video from the air vehicle’s payload cameras.  The GCS can also be embedded as a Remote Video Terminal (RVT), enabling Command Centers or Monitoring Stations the same viewing and analysis capability of the UAV operator (Aerovironment, 2014).  The GCS has the ability to store eighty image captures from the video feed (Aerovironment, 2014).  It allows for manually or autonomous flight operations and can store multiple pre-programmed missions (Aerovironment, 2014).  There are eight modes of operation (Manual, Altitude-Hold, Navigate, Loiter, Home, Loss-of-Link, Follow Me, Autoland).  It utilizes common military batteries which allows for easy integration into the battlefield.

Two human factors that I identified from its design is the exposed display screen and the compact size.  As evident with the smart phone revolution, people have a hard time keeping screens from breaking.  During military operations, the rough and quick handling of these units is just asking for the screen to get damaged.  During remote operations the damage could result in a failed operation unless a spare is present.  Another factor is the small screen.  While the compact size has many advantages in the battlefield, the small screen can put a strain on the operator’s eyes.  During long use, the operator could mistake non-hostiles as targets or make other bad decisions.  The ability to attach a larger screen, such as a “toughbook” would be an ideal solution to the problem.  As for the issue with the screen, a more expensive material to prevent easy destruction or a hard case could help mitigate the issue.

The issues that are present in the manned aviation community that relate to the factors of this GCS is eye strain.  During night operations or long duration missions, bright lights from either instruments or ambient lighting can accelerate fatigue and cause straining on the eyes. 

References

Aerovironment. (2014). UAS: Ground Control System. Retrieved from avinc.com: http://www.avinc.com/uas/small_uas/gcs/