Part Task Flight Simulator
The CEC Flight Simulator offers a good environment for analyzing pilot interactions under diverse flight conditions. This simulator accommodates a single pilot, utilizing Microsoft Flight Simulator for realistic flight simulations. The setup involves a primary monitor showcasing the cockpit/flight deck environment generated by MSFS, while a secondary monitor displays the MSFS map. The simulator is equipped with a control switch panel, rudder pedals, throttle quadrant, and a yoke. In the Fall of 2022, the simulator was configured to replicate the experience of piloting a Cessna 172 while introducing a challenging electrical fire scenario for evaluation of pilot performance.
Vehicle Simulator and Virtual Environment
The CEC houses an immersive driving simulator developed in-house with a standard driving interface, driving physics, and a virtual model of Georgia Tech’s campus. Inputs are collected through Logitech wheel and pedals, and the environment is projected around the user. The virtual environment was constructed in Unity3D, and driving dynamics were developed using Microsoft’s AirSim. The simulator has been used to study how drivers react when interacting with autonomous vehicles.
ECCHAT Lab
The ECCHAT Lab (Enhancing Command and Control in Human-Automation Teams) is the CEC’s leading research center for human-agent interaction, particularly that which involves an autonomous or intelligent agent in addition to the human participant. The ECCHAT Lab comprises a fully-instrumented testbed complete with over two dozen video recording sources for a variety of human-centered studies, including motion capture cameras and wide angle overhead surveillance to canvas the entire space. Along with motion capture capabilities and the accompanying motion capture wearables, the ECCHAT Lab has a breadth of devices and software for capturing physiological and behavioral data and fully equipped operator terminals to capture aspects of human-compuer interaction of interest to the CEC in its studies.
Autonomous eVTOL Simulator
The CEC Autonomous electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft Simulator provides an environment to study interaction of human aircrew members with autonomous aircraft. Design and construction started in summer 2022 with the building of an aircraft cabin, approximately the size of a small helicopter cabin, that can accomodate up to 4 operators. Microsoft Flight Simulator is used for flight simulation and visualization. Two projectors are used to display the out-the-window first person visualization generated by MSFS. The cabin has windows through which the human operators experience the simulated flight while interacting with the Autonomous Agent through experiment-specific User Interfaces. In Fall 2022, the simulator was configured to simulate the cabin of an autonomous Medical Evacuation (Medevac) aircraft configured with a neo-natal incubator and patient vitals monitoring devices. In Fall 2023, the simulator was configured to simulate the cabin of an autonomous Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft configured with an ISR operator station.
Georgia Tech Rotorcraft Flight Simulator (GTRFS)
Fixed-based flight simulator, reconfigurable. The flight dynamics engine is supplied by Advanced Rotorcraft Technologies (ART). It is currently equipped with a newly developed plugin that enables the ART flight dynamics engine to talk to UnREAL Engine, the image generation software. The flight simulator is also equipped with MOOG Control Loaders which allow for a realistic feel for the pilots.
Virtual Environments
Disaster Relief Environment
The artificial decision-making environment was created in the CEC to run online decision-making experiments. It was designed to simulate a disaster scenario in which the participants would act as disaster relief planners. The task environment is designed to simulate real-world decisions made sequentially with dynamic information change over time. The environment is used to examine user decision-making behavior and AI-advised decision support.
Game Teq
GameTeq is a commercially-available Distribution Classification “A” version of jCORE (aka joint-Cognitive Operational Research Environment) we have obtained and will continue to refine through use in CEC’s human-AI teaming research. GameTeq’s human-AI teaming wargaming will play an invaluable role in capturing the nuance of human-human and human-AI teammate interactions with the aid of an AI decision making agent amidst complex decision making scenarios. The base release of GameTeq features mission scenarios focused on naval defense, command and control, intelligence-gathering and tactical planning scenarios. GameTeq is particularly well-suited for CEC’s present and future research as it is highly customizable and new scenarios and functionality can be built atop the base release to serve the lab group well into the future as its research focii evolve.
Lane Defense Game
The Lane Defense environment is a decision-making enviroment that is designed to have participants choose between a number of incoming “targets.” The environment was developed in Unity and is gamified through the use of cartoon sprites and light pixel animations to be more digestible for an online audience. The Unity codebase ensures that the environment is flexible and data rich, with the ability to quickly modify all game parameters, design or exclude game menus, and collect user interaction data through click-tracking. There are currently 3 stable versions of the game which are all built around a 3-option time-pressured decision task with each option being described by 5 attributes.