Situation Displays for Dynamic UAV Replanning: Intuitions and Performance for Display Formats

Operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) requires quickly replanning routes to satisfy multiple complex three-dimensional (3D) mission constraints. How well do conventional two-dimensional (2D) displays support replanning? What are users' intuitions about alternate display formats, given the trend towards user-configured displays? Previously, we developed a realistic replanning task, and measured time and accuracy for satisfying UAV mission constraints. With present-day 2D displays, performance was particularly poor in complex mountainous environments (Cook, Smallman, Lacson, & Manes, 2009). In the current work, to address this shortfall, we designed novel displays to support replanning, and measured performance and intuitions for three canonical display formats: (1) baseline 2D, a proxy for current UAV displays, (2) augmented 2D, with integrated replanning constraints, and (3) perspective 3D, comparable in features to the augmented 2D. Using the three formats, participants replanned UAV routes compromised by closed airspace and repositioned ISR targets, over flat and mountainous terrain. Replanning was slowest and most error-prone for baseline 2D in flat terrain, and error severity was greatest for perspective 3D in mountainous terrain. However, users' intuitions strongly favored perspective 3D. Overall, time and accuracy were best for augmented 2D, and better performance with augmented 2D relied less upon higher spatial ability. Results highlight the mismatch of users' intuitions with performance, and the role of individual differences. The study informs the design of future replanning displays and lays the foundation for introducing and visualizing automated path planning solutions.