Modeling operator self-assessment in human-autonomy teaming settings

•Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) can be used to represent strategies employed by operators in first-person control of UAVs for inspection tasks like bridge inspections.•These HMM representations captured differences in strategies for people who both succeeded and crashed, as well as those who were calibrated and overconfident in their self-assessments.•People who were overconfident tended to attempt three axis control as opposed to two axis control which lead to an increased crash rate.•Using HMMs to capture operator strategies could help to identify how new technologies affect operator strategy development, or how and when operators develop appropriate strategies needed in satisfactory operation of complex systems.