Insight into User Acceptance and Adoption of Autonomous Systems in Mission Critical Environments

Abstract

With Industry 4.0 the immense progression of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has introduced new challenges for engineers to effectively design human-automation interaction in autonomous systems that are mission critical. Although various autonomous systems are currently being utilized in mission critical environments, there is limited literature and research on which factors affect the acceptance and adoption of said systems. Understanding which factors are most critical for the human-automation interaction could lead to seamless acceptance and adoption and more effective and less expensive missions. Findings of 47 semi-structured interviews revealed ease of use and system reliability to be significant factors for the acceptance and adoption of autonomous systems independent of the level of automation. Through our findings we expand on the current technology acceptance models by including mission critical factors. Emphasis is given to the discussion and consideration of the human factors and engineering approaches associated with the design of autonomous systems for mission critical environments that are needed to empower tomorrow’s users with effective AI systems technology.

Acknowledgements

Any opinions or findings of this work are the responsibility of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Defense or any other organizations. Approved for Public Release; distribution is unlimited.

Ethical approval

All research activities were approved by the University of Alabama Institutional Review Board (IRB), and approved of compliance with applicable Department of Defense and Department of Navy human research protection policy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors retain copyright of all materials previously published in conference proceedings. Due to the sensitive nature of this research, data are available from the authors after review by Department of Defense/Naval Postgraduate School sponsors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was sponsored by the Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research, Consortium for Robotics Unmanned Systems Education and Research at the Naval Postgraduate School under Grant [N00244-20-2-0001].

Notes on contributors

Kristin Weger

Kristin Weger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. She completed her Ph.D. in 2017 at the University of Bamberg in Industrial Organizational Psychology. Her research has focuses on improving organizational and management processes by focusing on digital transformation and the socio-technical system.

Lisa Matsuyama

Lisa Matsuyama is a graduate student in the Psychology Department at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Her research focuses on addressing human factors in system development and the influence of work climate on employee performance.

Rileigh Zimmermann

Rileigh Zimmerman is an undergraduate student at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. She assists in research in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior Lab in the psychology department and her research focuses on factors related to the acceptance and adoption of autonomous systems.

Bryan Mesmer

Bryan Mesmer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. He earned his Ph.D. from SUNY at Buffalo. His research reimagines systems engineering using approaches that span traditional areas of decision theory and non-traditional areas.

Douglas Van Bossuyt

Douglas Van Bossuyt is a partner at KTM Research, LLC in Tualatin, Oregon. KTM Research specializes in machine vision for manufacturing systems and vision-guided robotics. His research focuses on the intersection of design, system modeling, and risk analysis. He received his PhD from Oregon State University in 2012.

Robert Semmens

Rob Semmens is an Assistant Professor in the Systems Engineering Department at the Naval Postgraduate School. He earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University, in the Graduate School of Education’s Learning Sciences and Technology Design program. His research interests include discovering how people learn about technology while using that technology.

Casey Eaton

Casey Eaton is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She completed her M.S. in Systems Engineering (2020) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Her research focuses on system modeling and technical measurement.