Modeling of Complex Human-Process-Interaction as Framework for Assistance and Supervisory Control of Technical Processes

Interactive processes are omnipresent in research fields dealing with automation of complex technical processes. Such research fields allow a wide range of application scenarios of assistance systems to support human operators. However, the definition and description of the interaction itself strongly depends on the application. The description of Human-Process-Interaction (HPI) in most cases is the key for the development of interaction models leading to a framework for the development of assistance systems. The goal of such assistance systems is to support the human operator, or more general to consider human factors, on the one hand and thereby improving the considered process in parallel on the other hand. A suitable description of HPI allows further the analysis, assessment, and supervision of human operators in fulfilling their role in complexity gaining technical applications. For the purpose of creating a framework for the development of assistance systems, the Situation-Operator-Model (SOM) approach is applied. The SOM approach is capable of modeling HPI in a net-like structure representing the complex environment (or process) and human interactions. This formal modeling of HPI for the development of human-centered assistance systems based on the underlying modeled interaction is available. In this contribution illustrative examples of different applications for the proposed approach are given by a cognitive, individualized driver assistance system for lane changing maneuvers, by the assessment of operator decisions in air traffic control as well as the operator supervision in semiautomated production processes