A Research Approach to Shared Mental Models and Situation Assessment in Future Robot Teams

Understanding team cognition requires a multifaceted research approach, aimed at understanding individual and team cognition within and across humans and agents. Measurement and prediction of mental models and situation awareness (SA) of humans, robotic agents, and teams are needed to understand the knowledge required for advanced human-robot team performance. In this paper, we present a research approach to understanding shared mental models (SMMs) and SA with respect to human-robot teams. Having shared and accurate mental models will allow for human and robotic teammates to understand each other’s roles and tasks and also provide a level of predictive behavior that allows teammates to anticipate each other’s needs. Incorporating robotic agents’ input into team SA will improve the adaptive capability of the team. Combined with SA, SMMs can provide a deeper understanding of the happenings in the mission environment.

[1]  S. Gronlund,et al.  Situation Awareness , 2006 .

[2]  William B. Rouse,et al.  The role of mental models in team performance in complex systems , 1992, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern..

[3]  Eduardo Salas,et al.  Situation Awareness in Team Performance: Implications for Measurement and Training , 1995, Hum. Factors.

[4]  Stephen M. Fiore,et al.  Integrating Field Data with Laboratory Training Research to Improve the Understanding of Expert Human-Agent Teamwork , 2005, Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[5]  Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo,et al.  On the Use Of Concept Maps As An Assessment Tool in Science: What We Have Learned so Far 1 El uso de mapas conceptuales como instrumento de evaluación del aprovechamiento en ciencias: lo que sabemos hasta ahora , 2000 .

[6]  Mica R. Endsley,et al.  Toward a Theory of Situation Awareness in Dynamic Systems , 1995, Hum. Factors.

[7]  Gwendolyn E. Campbell,et al.  Measuring teamwork mental models to support training needs assessment, development, and evaluation: two empirical studies† , 2001 .

[8]  J. Mathieu,et al.  Performance implications of leader briefings and team-interaction training for team adaptation to novel environments. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[9]  S. Mohammed,et al.  The Measurement of Team Mental Models: We Have No Shared Schema , 2000 .

[10]  S. Mohammed,et al.  Team Mental Model: Construct or Metaphor? , 1994 .

[11]  E. Salas,et al.  Toward an understanding of team performance and training. , 1992 .

[12]  Matt Jones,et al.  The BICA Cognitive Decathlon: A Test Suite for Biologically-Inspired Cognitive Agents , 2007 .

[13]  S. Mohammed,et al.  Team mental models in a team knowledge framework: expanding theory and measurement across disciplinary boundaries , 2001 .

[14]  M. London.  How people evaluate others in organizations , 2001 .

[15]  Elliot E. Entin,et al.  Adaptive Team Coordination , 1999, Hum. Factors.

[16]  E. Salas,et al.  Shared mental models in expert team decision making. , 1993 .

[17]  J. Mathieu,et al.  The influence of shared mental models on team process and performance. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[18]  E. Salas,et al.  Group dynamics and shared mental model development. , 2001 .

[19]  Charmine E. J. Härtel,et al.  Defining aircrew coordination: Searching mishaps for meaning , 1989 .