Human supervisory control of automated systems

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Prof. M. Cummings

Prof. R. J. Hansman

Wickens, C. D., and J. G. Hollands. Engineering Psychology and Human Performance. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 2000. ISBN: 0321047117.

This is a graduate student class designed to examine the fundamental issues of human supervisory control, wherein humans interact with complex dynamic systems, mediated through various levels of automation. This course will explore how humans interact with automated systems of varying complexities, what decision processes can be encountered in complex man-machine systems, and how automated systems can be designed to support both human strengths and weaknesses. Several case studies will be presented from a variety of domains as illustrations. A secondary objective of this class is to provide an opportunity to improve both oral and written presentation skills.

After selecting a partner, students should select a topic from the list below and prepare a 10-15 minute presentation on the history of the incident for an in-class presentation. Special attention should be given to the issues surrounding the problems with automated systems and recommendations.

It is expected that within this course, the highest standards of academic integrity will be maintained, in keeping with MIT's stated policy: "Fundamental to the principle of independent learning and professional growth is the requirement of honesty and integrity in conduct of one's academic and nonacademic life…. Cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and other forms of academic dishonesty are considered serious offenses for which disciplinary penalties can be imposed." Specifically in this class, collaboration is allowed for the group project but the term projects and related efforts are individual efforts. All referenced work should be appropriately cited (APA format), to include websites, as well as figures and graphs in presentations. If there are any questions whatsoever, feel free to contact the course instructors about any possible gray areas.

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