Human-System Concurrent Task Analysis: An Application to Autonomous Remotely Operated Vehicle Operations

Abstract

Autonomous systems may operate with different Levels of Autonomy (LoA), from remote control to fully autonomous. The latter is not expected in the near or intermediate future for most systems. Thus, operation relies on the interaction between human and system. The Human-System Interaction in Autonomy (H-SIA) method aims to analyse autonomous systems including their interaction with operators in a monitoring or controlling role. The Concurrent Task analysis (CoTA) is a success-oriented method introduced in H-SIA. It models the interactions between tasks performed by different agents (e.g., humans and autonomous system). The CoTA allows for analysing the system as whole and to model an operation with dynamic LoA. These aspects make the CoTA a suitable tool to analyse Autonomous Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operation. ROVs have been recently gaining more autonomous capabilities, allowing for part of their operation to be autonomous with human monitoring. This article applies the CoTA method to autonomous ROV operations for subsea installations inspection. It further discusses how the CoTA can be used to develop operating procedures. These procedures are expected to improve current operations, making them safer with respect to human and environmental safety.