Abstract
Not only in aviation psychology, mode confusion is recognised as a significant safety concern. The notion is used intuitively in the pertinent literature, but with surprisingly different meanings. We present a rigorous way of modelling the human and the machine in a shared-control system. This enables us to propose a precise definition of “mode” and “mode confusion”. In our modelling approach, we extend the commonly used distinction between the machine and the user’s mental model of it by explicitly separating these and their safety-relevant abstractions. Furthermore, we show that distinguishing three different interfaces during the design phase reduces the potential for mode confusion. A result is a new classification of mode confusions by cause, leading to a number of design recommendations for shared-control systems which help to avoid mode confusion problems. A further result is a foundation for detecting mode confusion problems by model checking.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Rushby, J.: Modeling the human in human factors. In: Proc. of SAFECOMP 2001. Volume 2187 of LNCS., Springer (2001) 86–91
Norman, D.: Some observations on mental models. In Gentner, D., Stevens, A., eds.: Mental Models. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ, USA (1983)
Crow, J., Javaux, D., Rushby, J.: Models and mechanized methods that integrate human factors into automation design. In Abbott, K., Speyer, J. J., Boy, G., eds.: Proc. of the Int’l Conf. on Human-Computer Interaction in Aeronautics: HCI-Aero 2000, Toulouse, France (2000)
Butler, R., Miller, S., Pott, J., Carreño, V.: A formal methods approach to the analysis of mode confusion. In: Proc. of the 17th Digital Avionics Systems Conf., Bellevue, Washington, USA (1998)
Rushby, J.: Analyzing cockpit interfaces using formal methods. In Bowman, H., ed.: Proc. of FM-Elsewhere. Volume 43 of Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science., Pisa, Italy, Elsevier (2000)
Hourizi, R., Johnson, P.: Beyond mode error: Supporting strategic knowledge structures to enhance cockpit safety. In: Proc. of IHM-HCI 2001, Lille, France, Springer (2001)
Sarter, N., Woods, D.: How in the world did we ever get into that mode? Mode error and awareness in supervisory control. Human Factors 37 (1995) 5–19
Degani, A., Shafto, M., Kirlik, A.: Modes in human-machine systems: Constructs, representation and classification. Int’l Journal of Aviation Psychology 9 (1999) 125–138
Buth, B.: Formal and Semi-Formal Methods for the Analysis of Industrial Control Systems — Habilitation Thesis. Univ. Bremen (2001)
Leveson, N., Pinnel, L., Sandys, S., Koga, S., Reese, J.: Analyzing software specifications for mode confusion potential. In: Workshop on Human Error and System Development, Glasgow, UK (1997)
Doherty, G.: A Pragmatic Approach to the Formal Specification of Interactive Systems. PhD thesis, University of York, Dept. of Computer Science (1998)
Wright, P., Fields, B., Harrison, M.: Deriving human-error tolerance requirements from tasks. In: Proc. of the 1st Int’l Conf. on Requirements Engineering, Colorado, USA, IEEE (1994) 135–142
Degani, A., Heymann, M.: Pilot-autopilot interaction: A formal perspective. In Abbott, K., Speyer, J. J., Boy, G., eds.: Proc. of the Int’l Conf. on Human-Computer Interaction in Aeronautics: HCI-Aero 2000, Toulouse, France (2000) 157–168
Rodriguez, M., Zimmermann, M., Katahira, M., de Villepin, M., Ingram, B., Leveson, N.: Identifying mode confusion potential in software design. In: Proc. of the Int’l Conf. on Digital Aviation Systems, Philadelphia, PA, USA (2000)
Zimmermann, M., Rodriguez, M., Ingram, B., Katahira, M., de Villepin, M., Leveson, N.: Making formal methods practical. In: Proc. of the Int’l Conf. on Digital Aviation Systems, Philadelphia, PA, USA (2000)
Rushby, J., Crow, J., Palmer, E.: An automated method to detect potential mode confusions. In: Proc. of the 18th AIAA/IEEE Digital Avionics Systems Conf., St. Louis, Montana, USA (1999)
Lüttgen, G., Carreño, V.: Analyzing mode confusion via model checking. In Dams, D., Gerth, R., Leue, S., Massink, M., eds.: SPIN’ 99. Volume 1680 of LNCS., Berlin Heidelberg, Springer (1999) 120–135
Lankenau, A.: Avoiding mode confusion in service-robots. In Mokhtari, M., ed.: Integration of Assistive Technology in the Information Age, Proc. of the 7th Int’l Conf. on Rehabilitation Robotics, Evry, France, IOS Press (2001) 162–167
Palmer, E.: “Oops, it didn't arm.” — A case study of two automation surprises. In: Proc. of the 8th Int’l Symp. on Aviation Psychology. (1995)
Javaux, D.: Explaining Sarter &Woods’ classical results. The cognitive complexity of pilot-autopilot interaction on the Boeing 737-EFIS. In: Proc. of HESSD’98. (1998) 62–77
Hourizi, R., Johnson, P.: Unmasking mode errors: A new application of task knowledge principles to the knowledge gaps in cockpit design. In: Proc. of INTERACT 2001 — The 8th IFIP Conf. on Human Computer Interaction, Tokyo, Japan (2001)
Röfer, T., Lankenau, A.: Architecture and applications of the Bremen Autonomous Wheelchair. Information Sciences 126 (2000) 1–20
Lankenau, A., Röfer, T.: The Bremen Autonomous Wheelchair — a versatile and safe mobility assistant. IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, “Reinventing the Wheelchair” 7 (2001) 29–37
Parnas, D. L., Madey, J.: Functional documents for computer systems. Science of Computer Programming 25 (1995) 41–61
van Schouwen, A. J., Parnas, D. L., Madey, J.: Documentation of requirements for computer systems. In: IEEE Int’l. Symp. on Requirements Engineering — RE’93, San Diego, California, USA, IEEE Comp. Soc. Press (1993) 198–207
Hoare, C.: Communicating Sequential Processes. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. USA (1985)
Roscoe, A.W.: The Theory and Practice of Concurrency. Prentice-Hall (1997)
Lankenau, A.: Bremen Autonomous Wheelchair “Rolland”: Self-Localization and Shared-Control — Challenges in Mobile Service Robotics. PhD thesis, Universität Bremen, Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science (2002) To appear 29
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bredereke, J., Lankenau, A. (2002). A Rigorous View of Mode Confusion. In: Anderson, S., Felici, M., Bologna, S. (eds) Computer Safety, Reliability and Security. SAFECOMP 2002. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2434. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45732-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45732-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-44157-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45732-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive