Performance, Workload, and Situation Awareness in Manual and Automation-Aided Rendezvous and Docking.

BACKGROUND: Manual rendezvous and docking (RVD) is challenging for the astronauts, and automation is used to aid this operation. However, the automation mode in the final approaching stance of RVD is quite different. This paper is aimed at investigating the effect of automation on performance, workload and situation awareness (SA) among novice and expert operators in RVD. METHODS: A two-factor mixed experimental design was adopted. There were 15 novices and 12 experts who participated in the experiment. All subjects were required to finish six tasks of two automation levels: manual RVD and automation-aided RVD. The Performance was assessed by docking result and control process. Workload and SA were measured by NASA Task Load Index and Situation Awareness Rating Techniques (SART). Repeat measures ANOVA and the simple effect test were used to analyze the effect of automation, skill level, and the interaction between them on performance, workload, and SA of operators. RESULTS: Novices exhibited performances inferior to experts, but the skills gap was attenuated as automation was introduced. Moreover, automation can enhance performance, reduce workload, and enhance SA for novices, but potentially deteriorate task performance and SA for the experienced. Mediation analysis results indicated automation was a significant predictor of workload and SA, b = -0.576 and b = 0.503, and workload and SA were significant predictors of docking result, b = -0.590 and b = 0.348. CONCLUSION: Automation can be detrimental to various elements of the functioning of highly experienced operators. Moreover, automation affects docking result by affecting workload and SA.