Beyond robot fan-out: Towards multi-operator supervisory control

This paper explores multi-operator supervisory control (MOSC) of multiple independent robots using two complementary approaches: a human factors experiment and an agent-based simulation. The experiment identifies two task and environment limitations on MOSC: task saturation and task diffusion. It also identifies the correlation between task specialization and performance, and the possible existence of untapped spare capacity that emerges when multiple operators coordinate. The presence of untapped spare capacity is explored using agent-based simulation, resulting in evidence which suggests that operators may be more effective when they operate at less than maximum capacity.