Pilots, flying Predator drones directed at targets in Afghanistan and Iraq from the safety of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, "are at least as fatigued as crews deployed to Iraq." This is among the findings presented in a series of reports by Air Force Lt. Col. Anthony P. Tvaryanas. Teleoperating drones apparently leads to higher fatigue for the crew than actually manning an Awacs surveillance plane.
Tvaryanas speculates that "sensory isolation" from the immediate feedback of being in a plane contributes to the mental exhaustion of the teleoperators. He also examined 95 mishaps and safety incidents with the Predator. Tvaryanas reported that 57% of the crew-member-related incidents were "consistent with situation awareness errors associated with perception of the environment." In other words, people are poor at grasping an environment in which they are not actually located. Researchers stressing the importance of embodied cognition will appreciate these findings. They are also likely to foster an interest in making drones more autonomous in the hopes of decreasing mishaps arising from errors caused by remote crew members.
C'mon guys! Every video game freak is an expert at perceiving environments other than their own. America has created a training school for drone pilots and they don't know it. Is this the ultimate 'work at home' job or what? And how long do you think Osama would last with a couple of hundred geeky 15-year-olds bearing down on him?
"Hey Mom, come downstairs a minute... I think I just killed Osama Bin Laden!"
"That's great, Mikey. Hey, are Spaghetti-O's all right for lunch? I've got a nails appointment."
Jack, I just forwarded your bolg to the Secretary of the Air Force.What insight.
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