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Article published In: Interaction Studies
Vol. 24:3 (2023) ► pp.335–361

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Water, lava, and wind

Lessons learned for field robotics and human factors research during real world disasters

ORCiD logo with link | Texas A&M University
 | University of Wisconsin-Madison
 | Texas A&M University
Published online: 15 February 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/is.22048.per
Abstract
Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) are used more regularly and widely in disaster response. Like other personnel involved in disaster response, the sUAS pilots work for long periods, experience extreme stress and fatigue. They often arrive at the disaster fatigued (due to long drives to get there). However, unlike other personnel in this domain, there is little research on the effects of fatigue on sUAS pilots. Our experiences with a series of three real-world deployments highlight the challenges of conducting human factors research during disaster response and recovery. We specifically present lessons learned from having participant researchers embedded in three disasters with the sUAS pilot teams. These lessons result in a set of feasible and non-interruptive methods and metrics for conducting human factors research during field events. Preliminary results and recommended next steps are presented.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Methods and results
    • 2.1Commonalities observed across each disaster event
    • 2.2Operator fatigue measures and methods
  • 3.Hurricane Harvey – a flooding disaster
    • 3.1Methods
      • Participants
      • Measures and protocol
    • 3.2Compliance and feasibility lessons learned
  • 4.Kilauea – a lava disaster
    • 4.1Methods
      • Participants
      • Measures and protocol
    • 4.2Lessons learned
  • 5.Michael – A wind disaster
    • 5.1Methods
      • Participants
      • Measures and protocols
    • 5.2Lessons learned
  • 6.Findings for field data collection
    • 6.1Metrics and measures
    • 6.2Effective data collection
  • 7.Summary
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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