Objective Assessments of Mobility With an Early Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Prototype Viewing System

Abstract : To guide development of a mobility sensor for an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), a field testing program was established in which alternate mobility viewing system options were objectively compared with regard to their impact on driving under controlled field testing conditions. This report describes the procedures and specific tasks used in making comparisons across the 4 viewing system options that were compared: (1) direct view; (2) direct view 40 deg x 30 deg; (3) monoscopic helmet-mounted display (HMD); and (4) stereoscopic HMD. Testing was conducted with two groups of drivers: (1) an 'experienced' group who were well practiced on courses run and tested with each of the four alternate viewing system options; and (2) an 'inexperienced' group who were unfamiliar with courses and tested with a single mobility sensor system option on a one-time basis. Specific results in terms of relative driving efficiencies on six driving courses are reported and discussed with respect to their general implications for design of the man-machine interface for safe and efficient driving of UGVs in the teleoperated mode.