Monitoring an Automated System for a Single Failure: Vigilance and Task Complexity Effects

The present study examined the effects of task complexity and time on task on the monitoring of a single automation failure during performance of a complex flight simulation task involving tracking, fuel management, and engine-status monitoring. Two groups of participants performed either all three flight simulation tasks simultaneously (multicomplex task) or the monitoring task alone (single-complex task); a third group performed a simple visual vigilance task (simple task). For the multicomplex task, monitoring for a single failure of automation control was poorer than when participants monitored engine malfunctions under manual control. Furthermore, more participants detected the automation failure in the first 10 min of a 30-min session than in the last 10 min of the session, for both the simple and the multicomplex task. Participants in the single-complex condition detected the automation failure equally well in both periods. The results support previous findings of inefficiency in monitoring automation and show that automation-related monitoring inefficiency occurs even when there is a single automation failure. Implications for theories of vigilance and automation design are discussed.