Understanding teleoperation: A human-centered framework for workplace design

Abstract This article introduces a psychologically grounded framework to describe cognitive demands in the teleoperation of highly automated agents. It builds on established models of information processing, situation awareness, and occupational stress to explain how remote operators perceive, process, and act upon task demands in dynamic environments. Three scenarios from ground-based transportation illustrate varying operational contexts and support the identification of objective task demands. The framework highlights key human factors such as attention, working memory, and situation understanding, while also accounting for individual differences in cognitive resources. It provides a theoretical foundation for future empirical studies and supports the human-centered design of adaptive teleoperation workplaces. Practical Relevance : The framework supports the design and evaluation of teleoperation workplaces by identifying cognitive demands across diverse scenarios. It provides guidance for designing adaptive interfaces and task allocation strategies in event-driven, safety-critical environments that feature frequent context switches and uncertain sensor-based information. It helps practitioners and system designers to address the specific challenges of teleoperation as a complex socio-technical system.