Volume 15, Issue 3 - Special Issue: "Human-Machine Interaction and Cooperation in Safety-Critical Systems"

Mission- and safety-critical domains are more and more characterized by interactive and multimedia systems varying from large-scale technologies (e. g. airplanes) to wearable devices (e. g. smartglasses) operated by professional staff or volunteering laypeople. While technical availability, reliability and security of computer-based systems are of utmost importance, outcomes and performances increasingly depend on sufficient human-machine interaction or even cooperation to a large extent. While this i-com Special Issue on “Human-Machine Interaction and Cooperation in Safety-Critical Systems” presents recent research results from specific application domains like aviation, automotive, crisis management and healthcare, this introductory paper outlines the diversity of users, technologies and interaction or cooperation models involved.

Footswitches are used in the neurosurgical operating room for human-device-communication every day. However, problems, such as shifting or confusion of footswitches, often occur due to the parallel usage of up to 5 device-specific footswitches, resulting in a significant burden for the surgeon. There are no footswitches available which offer an optional central activation of different devices from various manufacturers and a reconfiguration during usage. Therefore, a new concept of a configurable central footswitch unit has been developed for optional activation of different devices in an open networked neurosurgical OR setting. In a user-centered evaluation 9 surgeons used both, the configurable central footswitch unit and 4 device-specific footswitches, for a cross-over experiment in an experimental OR setting. It shows that all surgeons were able to handle the configurable footswitch autonomously and that efficiency in surgeon-device-communication can be increased.

A growing body of research in the area of information systems for crisis management is based on data from social media. After almost every larger disaster studies emerge with the focus on the specific use of social media. Much of this research is based on Twitter data, due to the ease of access of this (mainly public) data, compared to (more closed) data, such as Facebook or Google+. Based on the experience gained from a research project on social media in emergencies and our task to collect social media data sets for other partners, we present the design and evaluation of a graphical user interface that supports those stakeholders (such as emergency services or researchers) that are interested in creating social media datasets for further crisis management research. We do not specifically focus on the analysis of social media data. Rather we aim to support the gathering process and how actors without sophisticated technical skills can be supported to get what they want and especially need: relevant social media data. Within this article, we present a practice-oriented approach and implications for designing tools that support the collection of social media data as well as future work.

In automated driving, the human driver and an automation form a joint human-machine system. In this system, each partner has her own individual cognitive as well as perceptual processes, which enable them to perform the complex task of driving. On different layers of the driving task, both, drivers and automation systems, assess the situation and derive action decisions. Although the processes can be divided between human and machine, and are sometimes very elaborate, the outcome should be a joint one because it affects the entire driver-vehicle system. In this paper, the individual processes for decision-making are defined and a framework for joint decision-making is proposed. Joint decision-making relies on common goals and norms of the two subsystems, human and automation, and evolves with experience.

Working safely and successfully in highly automated human-machine interfaces of future aviation is not only a matter of performance, but also of personality. This study examines which personality aspects correlate with safety-critical performance in human-machine teams. The research tools HTQ (Hybrid Team Questionnaire) and HINT (Hybrid Interaction Scenario) were combined for a comprehensive exploratory study. The HTQ includes personality scales measuring broad factors of personality (Big Five) as well as more specific scales and was added with objective personality assessments to measure risk taking. The simulation tool HINT simulates relevant processes in future human-machine team interaction in aviation. In a study with 156 applicants for aviation careers, safety-critical relations of some facets of general personality as well as risk taking were found. Especially personality aspects concerning disinhibiting, spontaneous behaviour and sensation seeking show correlations with poorer performance in the HINT simulation.

Trust in technology is an important factor to be considered for safety-critical systems. Of particular interest today is the transport domain, as more and more complex information and assistance systems find their way into vehicles. Research in driving automation / automated driving systems is in the focus of many research institutes worldwide. On the operational side, active safety systems employed to save lives are frequently used by non-professional drivers that neither know system boundaries nor the underlying functional principle. This is a serious safety issue, as systems are activated under false circumstances and with wrong expectations. At least some of the recent incidents with advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) or automated driving systems (ADS; SAE J3016) could have been prevented with a full understanding of the driver about system functionality and limitations (instead of overreliance). Drivers have to be trained to accept and use these systems in a way, that subjective trust matches objective trustworthiness (cf. “appropriate trust”) to prevent disuse and / or misuse. In this article, we present an interaction model for trust calibration that issues personalized messages in real time. On the showcase of automated driving we report the results of two user studies related to trust in ADS and driving ethics. In the first experiment (N = 48), mental and emotional states of front-seat passengers were compared to get deeper insight into the dispositional trust of potential users of automated vehicles. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we found that subjects accept and trust ADSs almost similarly as male / female drivers. In another study (N = 40), moral decisions of drivers were investigated in a systematic way. Our results indicate that the willingness of drivers to risk even severe accidents increases with the number and age of pedestrians that would otherwise be sacrificed. Based on our initial findings, we further discuss related aspects of trust in driving automation. Effective shared vehicle control and expected advantages of fully / highly automated driving (SAE levels 3 or higher) can only be achieved when trust issues are demonstrated and resolved.

This project developed and evaluated a smartphone-based feedback system to improve adherence in long-term therapy of scoliotic curves occurring in pubertal growth spurt. A scoliosis means a physical deformity in spine, which can be treated with wearing a thoraco-lumbar orthosis (brace). The therapy is promising if the medical device is worn at least 16 hours a day for several years. To support the adolescent patients reaching their therapy goals, the barriers and resources for a successful bracing treatment were explored in several interviews and workshops with scoliosis patients. In scoliosis therapy, patients usually experience therapeutic success at the beginning of the treatment, whereas after six months the progress normally stagnates and motivation for long-term therapy decreases. In this article we describe the user-centered design of a quiz function as a health education tool within the aforementioned smartphone-based feedback system to improve adherence in long-term therapy of scoliotic curves.