System-Wide Error Attribution in Multi-Vehicle Operations: Theoretical Explanation, Implications, and Applications

In multi-vehicle aerial operation contexts, a single or several human operators (m) are responsible for managing multiple uncrewed vehicles (N). This is referred to as the m:N operational paradigm.

When automation error occurs during m:N operations, especially if multiple vehicles exhibit automation error, a question is raised: What level of system globality will the error be attributed to? Globality refers to the levels within the conceptual hierarchy
of a perceptual object.

Significant costs could be incurred if the error is falsely attributed to a higher globality level than it should be (e.g., multiple groups of vehicles as opposed to a single vehicle), and those vehicles are subsequently subject to grounding and evaluation/maintenance. Likewise, it could be problematic if error is falsely attributed to a component (i.e., a lower globality level), resulting in ongoing, unsafe operation of vehicles that should be grounded or evaluated.

Thus, to meet required safety standards and facilitate commercial viability, multi-vehicle operators must be capable of appropriately attributing the level of globality of automation error within the system they are responsible for.