Dr. Woods in New Scientist on “Emergency 2.0″

May 28th, 2008

Dr. David Woods was recently quoted in the April 2008 New Scientist article “Emergency 2.0″ regarding the potential of new social media and technology in disaster response.

Citing recent C/S/E/L research presented at ISCRAM 2008, Woods reflected:

But even if you can organise user-generated information properly with this software, David Woods of Ohio State University in Columbus also points out that you need to avoid being distracted - by visual input in particular. He carried out simulations of a chemical release disaster with eight disaster’ response professionals and found that seven failed to notice information in the traditional channels -such as whiteboards which was missing in a video of the disaster being shown at the same time. “People get caught up in their virtual view, they start to think that it’s really what’s happening on the ground,” Woods says.

This inappropriate reliance on the imagery data creates a false sense of awareness, at the expense of ignoring conflicting data from other modalities. Such an effect is a classic pattern of poor representation design in user-interfaces, the keyhole effect. A noted a similar pattern, given the UAV nature of delivery, is what Dr. Phil Smith has previously referred to as “the video game effect”.


IBM Almaden Institute talk: Resilience Engineering

November 7th, 2007

In April 2007, David Woods was an invited speaker at IBM’s Almaden Research Institute. The Institute’s theme this year was Navigating Complexity, doing more with less which heralds to one of CSE’s core themes, coping with complexity. Framed by his recent work in resillience engineering, Woods provokes and appeals to many of the prominent researchers in attendence including: Stuart Kauffman, John Doyle, and Don Norman.

[digg=http://digg.com/design/Creating_Safety_by_Engineering_Resilience]

Reducing the Risk of Shallow Information Analysis

November 7th, 2007

David D. Woods recently presented a Google Tech Talk on “Reducing the Risk of Shallow Information Analysis”

The material covered is based on ongoing research at C/S/E/L regarding assessing the rigor of analysis and information analysis innovation .

NDM8 Workshop and Demonstration

June 27th, 2007

In conjunction with the USMA, C/S/E/L presented an intense interactive workshop at NDM8 in Asilomar California relating the challenges of distributed team cognition in intellgience analysis. The website with pictures chronicling the workshop and research is available by clicking below.


HFES Keynote Video

December 1st, 2006

This parody video based on David Woods’ appearance on Japanese television was set to be played at the 50th Anniversary of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society’s Past Presidents Address.

upcoming Symposium on Resilience Engineering

April 18th, 2006

Second International Symposium on Resilience Engineering, Cannes France, Nov. 9-10, 2006; see conference overview link

Submit 1-2 page abstracts by July 7 to Erik.Hollnagel@cindy.ensmp.fr

Current Project List

April 18th, 2006

Re-Orienting Costs
(D. Tuzar & D. Woods)
This study shows how to use re-orienting cost as a measure of the quality of human-computer interaction for multi-task situations. The study includes designs to reduce re-orienting cost for car in-cab interfaces
[DEMONSTRATION, MEDIA-PAPER, DESIGN, METRIC, THESIS]
re-orienting cost mediapaper 10MB pdf

Model of Perspective-Taking and the Perspective Controller design
(A. Roesler, now at University of Washington)
A model of perspective-taking as multiple sensors and mobile robotic platforms provide remote observers with new ways to connect to distant situations. The model provides principles for coordination of multiple views from sensors/platforms monitoring remote locations. The model is illustrated by a 3-dimensional view control interface design.
[DEMONSTRATION, MEDIA-PAPER, DESIGN, MODEL, THESIS]
coordinating perspectives link

Patterns in Cognitive Systems Engineering
(D. Woods)
New book on results from CSE work.
[BOOK]
new book link

Coordinating Shared Perspectives
(M. Voshell & A. H. J. Oomes)
A new interface concept was developed and implemented to coordinate perspectives between multiple parties using a remote robotic system. A prototype was tested in a robotic search and rescue competition, and won. The system, built using a new framework for rapidly leveraging new navigation interfaces and remote sensor channels, allows us to take concepts quickly from simulation and implement on our robotic platform.
[DEMONSTRATION, REPORT, WON ROBOT COMPETITION]
HRI link
HRI site

Metric for Evaluating HRI Performance
(M. Voshel & F. Phillips)
Path analysis using fractal geometry provides a new metric for evaluating robot or human-robot team exploration. Simple measurements such as path length and completion times are particularly unsuitable for evaluating human-robot navigation performance in a complex environment with multiple tasks and competing goals. This class of space and time invariant metrics allow us to better analyze human robot exploration, interpret valuable behavioral information for analysis of movement efficiency, path tortuosity, and overall space utilization in relation to handler goals and overall environment characteristics. Not only is this metric valuable for post hoc analysis, but it also serves as a powerful cue to observability when integrated into robot operator displays.
[DEMONSTRATION, REPORT]
HRI site

Heads-Up in a Heads-Down World
(D. Tuzar & D. Woods)
Based on results on re-orienting cost, the model integrates factors that influence how attention shifts in multi-signal, multi-task situations.
[DEMONSTRATION, MODEL]

Human-Smart Camera Interaction in Visual Surveillance
(A. Morison, J. Davis)
This work is a new approach to human-camera interaction in visual surveillance by automatically learning scene awareness for a PTZ camera using low level event information (i.e. pedestrian motion). The learned scene awareness provides the camera a goal for moving or scanning around a scene (i.e. scan path) while human-camera coordination is accomplished through a single visualization which provides past, present, and future camera scan path information.
[DEMONSTRATION]

The Effects of Real-time Imaging Technology on Data Gathering and Analysis in Emergency Management (J. McGuirl)
A simulation-based study of Emergency Management personnel and Incident Commanders using a UAV video feed to assist in managing the response to an accident at a petro-chemical facility. FIndings address how commander decision-making and control strategies were affected by direct visual access to the operations area.
[STUDY, THESIS]

Layered CheckZone
(W. Elm, J. Tittle, D. Tinapple, D. Woods)
The Layered CheckZone concept applies CSE design principles to the problem of integrating multiple sensors and intelligent systems with a team of soldiers performing a common but important MOUT function: checkpoint operation. The Layered CheckZone provides a platform for understanding the challenges and exploring potential CSE solutions that arise when multi-sensor, multi-agent systems are teamed with soldiers conducting MOUT.
[DEMONSTRATION]

Study of MI Analysis Processes
(S. Trent, J. Grossman, E. Patterson, M. Voshell et al.)
A two-week study of military intelligence analysis in a counter-insurgency training exercise at the Army intel schoolhouse. Both an exercise in analysis as well as a study of analysis. Findings address information synthesis, cross-checks, connecting analysis to recommendations and inferring intent.
[STUDY]

Design Seeds for Information Analysis
(E. Patterson et al.)
Using findings from studies of analysis, collaborative envisioning mechanisms were used to identify promising directions and design seeds to support information analysis and comprehension. Combining many perspectives from around industry and academia, groups brought new insighst to tackle the challenges of modern intelligence. Design seeds looked at technology forecasting and information dynamics, workflows for analyst perspective representation, and the implications of mathematical descriptions of collaborative metadata.
[PROJECTS]

What is the Opposite of Creeping Featurism?
(D. S. Lee, D. Woods, D. Kidwell, H. Tran)
Creeping featurism is a process that produces complexity cumulatively and inadvertently as each individual module seems appropriate when considered on its own. The analysis of different answers to the question of what is the opposite of creeping featurism leads to a new strategy based on tracking fitness in an innovation landscape.
[BOOK in progress]
overview of fitness management pdf

Scenarios As A Tool For Collaborative Envisioning
(J. Schoenwald, J. Tittle, M. Voshell & D. Woods)
The animock serves as a collaborative envisioning tool resulting in new possibilities for sensor technology in MOUT (see url: http://csel.eng.ohio-state.edu/productions/xcta). Combining the Topic Landscape and a simulation engine under the animock design provides narrative to envision and describe inherent complexities in general work, as well as new insight into specific difficulties faced in MOUT.
[TOPIC LANDSCAPE, THESIS]
overview pdf

Assessing Resilience and Safety of Offshore Helicopter Transportation
(T. da Mata, et al., Jose O. Gomes et al., and D. D. Woods
A resilience analysis of offshore helicopter transport operations for a large petrochemical company in Brazil. The analysis identifies gaps created by goal conflicts, tradeoffs, and weak plans/procedures. The gaps are points of brittleness that can contribute to potential future incidents and accidents.
[PAPER]
offshore helicopter safety pdf

HRI 06 Plenary Address

March 2nd, 2006

The Law of Stretched Systems in Action: Exploiting Robots
Podcast avialable at: HRI06 link

Plenary address at the Human-Robot Interaction Conference HRI 2006, Salt Lake City, UT, March 2-4, 2006 examined new findings on how to coordinate activities over wider ranges given robots and how to expand our perception and action over larger spans through remote devices.

Podcast directions: get itunes, click subscribe at link to download to itunes, select the cover art icon at the lower left of the itunes screen to see thumbnails of the visuals, click on each to get full size (bug in apple’s software; only thumbnails update automatically), none of the videos play given current software, click on the “widget” which is at the top of the itunes screen (just to the left of the search window and just to the right of the title/time left window) to get chapters (like song tracks) and jump around.

Buy Viagra Online Buy Xanax Online Buy Viagra Online Buy Viagra Pill Cheap Viagra Buy Viagra Pill

Research Themes

February 15th, 2006

Resilience: New Paradigm for Safety Management
~ New Book
~ International Symposium 06 link
~ Studies
~ Health Care overview pdf
~ Offshore Helicopter Safety pdf
~ Measures
~ Cross Checks study pdf

Information Analysis and Comprehension: How to Escape from Data Overload
~ CPoD Consortium Activities: Converging Perspectives on Data
~ Studies
~ Design Seeds
~ Teaching Resources
~ CPoD Summer Institute

Integrating Diverse Sensor Feeds
~ Human-Robot
~ Military Operations (MOUT, checkpoints)
~ Emergency Response

Design Envisoning
~ Animocking and Narratives pdf
~ De:Cycle framework for collaborative envisioning pdf

Metrics
~ Complexity Metrics e.g. Fractal pdf
~ Events and Attention e.g. mUMP pdf

Patterns in Joint Cognitive Systems at Work
New Book link
~ Coordination and Miscoordination (see People and Automation theme)
~ Resilience and Brittleness (see Resilience/Error theme
~ Affordance and Clumsiness (see Design theme)
~ Generic Requirements

Designing Joint Cognitive Systems that Work
~ Seeing patterns emerge
~ Making sense of change
~ Coordinating perspectives e.g. link

Studies of Joint Cognitive Systems at Work
~ Discovering How Joint Cognitive Systems Work
~ E.g. Study of Analysis pdf

Systems Engineering: New Approaches to Engineer Adaptive and Complex Systems
~ Teaching Resources
~ New approaches to R&D

What is the opposite of creeping featurism?

January 24th, 2006

Why does design get trapped producing inadvertent, cumulative complexity in use?

A new project by D. S. Lee, D. Woods, D. Kidwell and H. Tran

overview of fitness management pdf