Designing and Evaluating a Multimodal Interface for Soldier-Swarm Interaction

Abstract

Traditional unmanned vehicle and robotic displays often use the visual modality alone to provide information and warnings. In previous studies we found that multimodal (auditory and/or tactile) cues that supplement visual displays, can increase user performance and decrease workload in a variety of settings. In this latest study, we examined the use of visual, spatial auditory, and tactile presentation of geospatial and warning information in a Soldier-robotic swarm interface. Sixteen male Marines with a mean age of 19 years from a Marine Detachment at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, acted as volunteer participants. Results showed that workload decreased and performance, as measured by reduced response time, increased with multimodal displays. These results are consistent with previous studies. The findings from this study have implications for the design of multimodal interfaces in complex, data-rich domains such as the human-swarm interface.