AIRCREW EVALUATION SUSTAINED OPERATIONS PERFORMANCE (AESOP): A Triservice Facility for Technology Transition

Abstract : A primary mission of the Sustained Operations Branch, Crew Technology Div., Armstrong Lab. (AFSC), is to develop procedures and provide guidance to operational commands on maintaining and extending crew performance during sustained operations and continuous duty. The Crew Technology Div. developed the AESOP facility to meet the triservice research and mission requirements for team performance metrics. The AESOP facility evaluates the interactive effects of fatigue, stress, and medications on AWACS aircrew performance so effective countermeasures can be transitioned from the laboratory to field test environments to actual operations. The basic design of the facility allows the flexibility and experimental control to either assess performance decrements or develop performance enhancement techniques in a realistic operational environment. The simulation integrates hardware and software resources, data collection and analysis systems, verbal communication networks, command/control scenarios, and performances measures. Examples of individual and team performance on complex decision making are illustrated. Emphasis is placed on flexibility of measurement, hierarchical organization of measurement levels, and data collection from multiple perspectives. Future research opportunities for the development and evaluation of candidate models to describe and predict team decision making under stress from the perspective of operational performance- based criteria are identified.