Keynote Lecture
Human-Machine Interface: A System of Systems Approach
Professor George Vachtsevanos
Professor Emeritus
Georgia Institute of Technology
USA
E-mail: george.vachtsevanos@ece.gatech.edu
Abstract: This presentation is introducing a system of systems approach to to the important topic of how human operators interact and interface with modern complex systems such as aircraft, industrial and manufacturing processes. As modern systems/processes become more complex they are taxing severely the capabilities of human operators. We discuss the problem areas arising from the human-machine interface and how autonomy technologies can assist to resolve conflicts between system automated advisories and the human, reduce human errors and prevent severe machine failures. We will use typical examples from the aerospace and industrial arenas to demonstrate the efficacy of these emerging technologies.
Brief Biography of the Speaker: Dr. George Vachtsevanos is currently serving as Professor Emeritus at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He served as Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1984 until September, 2007. Dr Vachtsevanos directs at Georgia Tech the Intelligent Control Systems laboratory where faculty and students began research in diagnostics in 1985 with a series of projects in collaboration with Boeing Aerospace Company funded by NASA and aimed at the development of fuzzy logic based algorithms for fault diagnosis and control of major space station subsystems. His work in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles dates back to 1994 with major projects funded by the U.S. Army and DARPA. He has served as the Co-PI for DARPA’s Software Enabled Control program over the past six years and directed the development and flight testing of novel fault-tolerant control algorithms for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. He has represented Georgia Tech at DARPA’s HURT program where multiple UAVs performed surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking missions in an urban environment. Under AFOSR sponsorship, the Impact/Georgia Team is developing a biologically-inspired micro aerial vehicle. His research work has been supported over the years by ONR, NSWC, the MURI Integrated Diagnostic program at Georgia Tech, the U,S. Army’s Advanced Diagnostic program, General Dynamics, General Motors Corporation, the Academic Consortium for Aging Aircraft program, the U.S. Air Force Space Command, Bell Helicopter, Fairchild Controls, among others. He has published over 300 technical papers and is the recipient of the 2002-2003 Georgia Tech School of ECE Distinguished Professor Award and the 2003-2004 Georgia Institute of Technology Outstanding Interdisciplinary Activities Award. He is the lead author of a book on Intelligent Fault Diagnosis and Prognosis for Engineering Systems published by Wiley in 2006.