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Stevie Michie
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Unmanned Aircraft Flight Controls
Research & Design
Gamification principles applied to map based piloting of unmanned aircraft
Overview
I led the design and implementation of map-based interactions for unmanned aircraft piloting systems. This involved creating an interface that enabled operators to fly and maintain aircraft while accomplishing missions potentially hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
Challenge
The map-based nature of the project presented a unique set of challenges. Early design requests often called for all interactions to be directly accessible from the map. While intuitive at first glance, this approach overwhelmed the system with unnecessary and poorly fitted interactions, ultimately hindering usability.
Solution
To address this, my team and I established a set of interaction rules: all interactions would be tied to the aircraft selected, its current capabilities, and the action location. For example when acting in the vicinity of an ally, operators would often take drastically different actions than above a hostile.
This strategic focus streamlined the system, allowing users to access the right tools at the right time, reducing cognitive load, and enhancing operational efficiency.
Key Takeaway
Established rules to prioritize relevant actions, improves system clarity and usability.
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