Human Factors Issues of Limited Connectivity in Advanced UAS Operations: Insights and Prospects

This paper presents an assessment of relevant human factors issues of advanced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which are affected by limited data connectivity. Based on an earlier literature review, we categorize these issues under three aspects, namely system design, human factors evaluation, and operation process. Under each aspect, we examine in detail the pertinent human factors engineering insights regarding unmanned aircraft systems and their connectivity. We also present prospects for future research by listing relevant human factors-related research questions for each aspect regarding limited connectivity in UAS operations. A key conclusion of the paper is that similar human factors issues, such as automation awareness and trust, apply for advanced UAS operations as they do to other well-studied automated safety-critical environments.