An analysis of FAA certification regulations and guidelines for evaluating the unmanned aircraft human-machine interface: Lost link

Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) have become an integral part in military operations. Currently they are critical in reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and combat missions. However, civilian operations are stunted due to restrictions to specific airspaces. Research was conducted to evaluate the Human Machine Interface (HMI) of UASs to analyze the ability for safe operation in the National Airspace System (NAS). More so, to evaluate a main vulnerability; lost link. The authors collected complex scenarios from ten experienced pilots through interviews, naturalistic observations and subject matter reviews to discover main issues regarding lost link. Data was evaluated using cognitive task analyses and gap analyses to compare with the current manned regulations. The results conveyed four functional goals including: pre-mission building and entering the emergency return profile, updating the lost link profile, detecting lost link and responding to lost link. The paper concludes with vulnerabilities of each goal along with corresponding recommendations.