Abstract
Future warfare demands are rapidly pushing the need to optimize collaborative decision-making in Human-Machine Teams (HMT). A primary mean to support effective collaboration is via contextually aware Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) that mediate mission-centric HMT interactions. A clear and present need involves fighter pilots operating Collaborative Combat Aircrafts (CCA) in complex missions. However, a key research gap centers on HMT trust and its impact on the warfighter and mission outcomes. Consequently, the current study builds on previous HMT research that validated the Continuous Online Numerical Score (CONS), a novel trust measure for applied HMT settings (Hartzler et al., 2023). Our goal was to verify and extend HMT trust-related findings in a realistic environment: an F-16 pilot operating CCAs in a Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission. Specifically, we developed a SEAD mission using the Modern Air Combat Environment (MACE) and developed an HMI to operate CCAs within an F-16 Unit Training Device (UTD) simulator. The HMI was integrated in the cockpit in tablet format. The experiment design involved two manipulations: presence or absence of a secondary task to impact workload (fishing boats that were either neutral or hostile), and HMI recommendation accuracy on fused sensor data for enemy tracks. We used a repeated-measures design whereby each participant conducted multiple missions across our main manipulations. Twenty-eight participants were split into a pilot group and a naïve group. Subjective data involved trust questionnaires, the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and CONS. Objective data involved Measures of Performance (MOPs) and Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs), interaction data with the HMI, and biometric data obtained from a wrist-worn device. Results confirmed CONS trust diagnostic power and further identified key measures that are both predictive of trust and performance. Results are further discussed in terms of HMI design implications to support complex HMT missions.