Dale is a Cognitive Psychologist who specialises in Human-Computer Interaction at QinetiQ. When he began working at the company, ten years ago, he was involved with numerous systems where humans interact with GUIs but with increasing company interest in UAS, his focus sharpened.
“I have normally worked on cockpit displays, but for the last six years I’ve been concentrating on UAV Human Factors,” Dale said. “UAVs present a different problem in terms of human performance, as the operator exists within a more sensory impoverished environment. My particular interest lies especially with Autonomous UAVs – my role is to ensure the system is designed with the end-user in mind.”
He explained further that even highly autonomous UAVs will have a ground station operator somewhere in the loop for the foreseeable future. While the autonomous systems will handle the everyday mission tasks like planning, flying and executing tasks, the human will monitor the overall progress as the mission unfolds.
In ASTRAEA I, Dale was involved from the start and was named technical lead for QinetiQ’s ground control station work package. He was also involved in sense & avoid in terms of what information is provided and how that data is displayed at the ground station.
“Our final demonstration at ParcAberporth went very well,” Dale recalled, “and we had a unique offering with the human in the centre of the design, both in terms of the physical display and the operator-system interaction.”
In ASTRAEA II, Dale works with Mark Westwood in the autonomy theme, refining and maturing the autonomous decision-making technologies the QinetiQ team developed in ASTRAEA I.
“I work closely with the team designing the autonomy,” Dale explained, “to ensure the operator and the system have a seamless interaction – it’s all about building trust and confidence in the autonomous system.”
He also follows developments in the ground station operations theme through colleagues at Thales and BAE. And it’s been gratifying, he said, to see the continuing emphasis on the human element in the UAV domain.
Looking ahead after ASTRAEA II, Dale said a key element of the current programme is CAA involvement so industry and regulations proceed on parallel courses with standards and certification procedures understood as the technology matures.
About QinetiQ
QinetiQ is a leading international provider of technology-based services and solutions to the defence, security and related markets. The company develops and delivers services and solutions for government organisations, predominantly in the UK and US, including defence departments, intelligence services and security agencies. In addition, we provide technology insertion and consultancy services to commercial and industrial customers around the world. QinetiQ uses the in-depth technical and domain knowledge of its people to understand and help meet some of the most complex technical challenges faced by customers in the core markets of Defence, Security and Energy & Environment.