Human Systems Engineering

DCS supports U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) basic research and applied research programs featured Human Subjects Research. DCS scientists, engineers, and technicians work collaboratively with government representatives to plan and execute lines of research designed to enhance the human-system integration process. With the increasing DoD focus on introducing advanced technology to the battlespace, soldiers will increasingly interact with autonomous systems and intelligent agents. DCS works to ensure next-generation soldiers will be prepared for these challenges through ongoing research, featuring the use of AI/ML, human systems engineering, research and development, gaming and virtual world development, human physiological measurement, and big data analysis.

DCS conducts research in soldier interaction and interface with manned and unmanned ground combat vehicle systems. This includes HW/SW for video and data management and soldier control interface for 360-degree Local Situational Awareness (360LSA) sensor system, hostile fire detection system, and autonomous navigation system. The 360LSA sensor output, and other subsystem data is presented to the soldiers via an advanced Warfighter Machine Interface (WMI), which is designed to optimize the crew’s workloads and to maximize its safety. DCS develops simulations of the vehicles, sensors, and weapons, and autonomous navigation to facilitate study of various WMI design concepts and corresponding crew performance. DCS also integrates prototype subsystems, and WMI with vehicles to facilitate investigation in real vehicles in field environments. DCS has supported various US Army CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) experiments using these capabilities to gather performance metrics, including robotic system control through the WMI.

DCS is a leading researcher in non-invasive brain stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation to augment healthy human performance. We use electrical, magnetic, and light energy to enhance brain activity for a variety of Air Force relevant domains such as learning, memory, attention, arousal, multi-tasking, and fatigue mitigation. We also study the mechanisms of these cutting-edge techniques by collecting and analyzing biological and physiological data such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, occulometrics, heart rate, breath rate, blood, saliva, etc. We are field-testing this technology with operational units for the application of accelerating learning and as a fatigue mitigation tool during shift changes and for the purpose of transitioning this technology to the warfighter.