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Designing for Robust and Effective Teamwork in Human-Agent Teams

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Robust Intelligence and Trust in Autonomous Systems

Abstract

We investigated the impact of team structure, task uncertainty, and information-sharing tools on team coordination and team performance in human-agent teams. In applications such as search and rescue, command and control, and air traffic control, operators in the future will likely need to work in teams together with robots. It is critical to understand how these teams could be robust against uncertainty and what influences team performance. We conducted two experiments in which teams of three operators controlled simulated heterogeneous robots on the same testbed. Experiment 1 investigated the impact of team structure and uncertainty of task arrival processes on team coordination and performance. Experiment 2 explored the usage of information-sharing tools under different uncertainty levels. In Experiment 1, it was found that divisional teams were more robust against the uncertainty on task arrival processes. However, this robustness was achieved with an overall worse performance compared to functional teams. Three reasons for the degraded performance were identified, namely duplication on task assignment, under-utilization of vehicles, and infrequent communication. In Experiment 2, it was found that information-sharing tools reduced the duplication on task assignments, improved overall task performance, and reduced workload. These results provide insights for achieving robust and effective teamwork. This goal can be achieved by using a team structure that could adapt to uncertainties together with effective information-sharing tools. These findings could inform the design of robust teams and the development of information-sharing tools to improve teamwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, E40-206, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Fei Gao

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Box 90300, 144 Hudson Hall, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    M. L. Cummings

  3. College of Computing and Informatics Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, UC108, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Erin Solovey

Authors
  1. Fei Gao
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  2. M. L. Cummings
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  3. Erin Solovey
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fei Gao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA

    Ranjeev Mittu

  2. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA

    Donald Sofge

  3. Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Alan Wagner

  4. Paine College, Augusta, Georgia, USA

    W.F. Lawless

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Gao, F., Cummings, M.L., Solovey, E. (2016). Designing for Robust and Effective Teamwork in Human-Agent Teams. In: Mittu, R., Sofge, D., Wagner, A., Lawless, W. (eds) Robust Intelligence and Trust in Autonomous Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7668-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7668-0_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-7666-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-7668-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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