Assistance and supervisory control of operators in complex human-process-interaction

The definition of Human-Process-Interaction (HPI) varies as the definition of interaction or process itself is strongly related to the considered research field. However, common to most cases is the need of a description of the interactions between human operators and the process or the task in order to perform further analysis and being enabled to develop innovative operator assistance, assessment, or supervisory tools supporting operators fulfilling their role in complexity gaining environments. Using the Situation-Operation-Modeling (SOM) approach, the description of complex environmental scenes by a network of actions and states is possible. Based on the related formal description of Human-Process-Interaction, the representation of human behaviors, interactions, and process procedures is performed to build up a framework for the development and the implementation of optimized human centered assistance systems. Examples are given by a cognitive, individualized driver assistance system for lane changing maneuvers, assessment of operator decisions in air traffic control, and operator supervision in semi-automated production processes.