Integrating information from off-board sensors into the submarine control room: workload, situation awareness, and performance consequences

Off-board sensors have the potential to provide submarine control rooms with otherwise inaccessible information to supplement data gathered by on-board sensors. Using Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as a representative test case, we examined how team performance, workload and situation awareness were impacted by receiving raw, compared to processed, sensor data from one or two off-board UAVs. Sixteen teams of three participants were trained to compile a tactical picture and to complete missions. Teams receiving processed off-board sensor data compiled more accurate tactical pictures, completed missions faster, and reported lower workload, compared to teams receiving raw off-board sensor data. Situation awareness, objective workload, and perceived usability were comparable between conditions. Scenarios with two UAVs took longer to complete, with other outcomes unaffected. These outcomes provide evidence that humans can integrate additional and distinct sources of information to form a cohesive combined picture, even when those data are partially redundant. Off-board sensors, such as Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles, could provide strategic advantage to submarines by extending their sensing range. The current study examined how to present off-board sensor data to the control room such that teams can integrate it with data from traditional on-board sensors to form a tactical picture.