Fatigue Countermeasure Laboratory @ NASA Ames

An evaluation of sleepiness, performance, and workload among operators during a real-time reactive telerobotic lunar mission simulation (2021)

Telerobotic operations, in which an operator is physically controlling a device from a remote location, are increasing in use in many occupational environments (e.g., military operations, robotic surgery, and search and rescue), but most notably for extraplanetary exploration (Chen et al., 2007). This inherent separation from the device that is being controlled deprives the operator of sensory feedback and requires the operator to instead rely on visual displays, which can increase mental workload demand (Schipani, 2003). Often, this involves vigilant monitoring of displays for extended durations of time to preserve the robot and mission. In addition, spaceflight missions typically require 24-hour operations. Many studies have demonstrated that working at night is associated with performance impairment due to working under conditions of sleep loss or when the circadian rhythm is promoting sleep (A° kerstedt & Wright, 2009; Boivin & Boudreau, 2014). However, it is unclear how the demands of performing a sustained, continuous telerobotic operation might interact with sleep loss and circadian misalignment to influence an operator’s ability to maintain performance. Furthermore, it is unclear whether an operator’s time-on-task should be limited due to these factors. The upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission will require teams of human operators to control a lunar rover remotely from an Earth-based mission control center. Due to the relative lack of prior research on sustained real-time reactive mission control operations, we aimed to evaluate sleepiness, performance, and workload during a simulated operation to better inform scheduling and staffing requirements in preparation for the VIPER mission.