UTM is a key NASA initiative, and one of UTM s key thrusts is to ensure safe usage of UAS. Technologies which can be used for real-time risk assessment of UAS flights are being developed by UTM safety…

This is a $1,129,834.00 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Human Automation Teaming Solutions, Inc. The contract is for the development of a Human Autonomy Teaming Interface System (HATIS) to support NASA's Urban Air Mobility (UTM) initiative, which aims to enable safe usage of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The HATIS will provide tools, interfaces, and software to allow human operators and UTM/UAS automation to collaborate on real-time risk management and mitigation. The contract has a total small business set-aside designation.

UTM is a key NASA initiative, and one of UTM s key thrusts is to ensure safe usage of UAS. Technologies which can be used for real-time risk assessment of UAS flights are being developed by UTM safety researchers, but there is currently no user interface to connect these technologies with the UTM managers and/or UAS operators. We propose to develop a human autonomy teaming interface system (hatis) composed of specialized tools, multimodal interfaces, and human autonomy teaming software, which will permit human operators and UTM/UAS automation to collaborate for real-time risk management and mitigation (RMM). In phase i, we collaborated with NASA to identify hazard categories and UTM RMM roles and automation capabilities; developed high-level system requirements and a system architecture along with three test cases; demonstrated a proof-of-concept with interactive mockup interfaces; and validated hatis potential as a product for key market segments, including NASA labs conducting research in human autonomy teaming (HAT), landfills conducting real-time environmental monitoring and reporting, and UAS manufacturers. In phase II, we will spiral the development in hatis in two builds: 1) HATIS1, which includes both building basic interfaces that allow the operator to visualize risks and collaborate with the automation to manage risks, and conducting the first integrated test and evaluation with usability and software; and 2) HATIS2 which includes extending hatis to include level-of-automation management, play-based control, voice interaction, and conducting the second integrated test and evaluation with usability, software, and interoperability. We will implement a comprehensive risk mitigation plan that involves creating emulators of UTM RM algorithms and testing with these emulators if direct testing with RM algorithms is infeasible, and incorporating NASA input in preliminary and critical design reviews throughout each build.