Complex Task Performance as a Basis for Developing Cognitive Engineering Guidelines in Adaptive Automation

This paper describes the first of a series of Cockpit Automation Studies (CAS-1). The study examines performance on two tasks performed separately and in combination. The tasks were selected to represent tasks found in a tactical aircraft cockpit and were derived from standard laboratory tasks. The results of the study have implications for the utility of resource theory in understanding and predicting complex task performance, and for the use of adaptive automation systems. On-going and planned research is also discussed.