• Research Vision & Mission
• Conceptual Frameworks
  • Cognitive Work Analysis
  • Ecological Interface Design
  • Trust in Automation
  • Risk Management Framework
• Themes & Projects
  • 1 - Theoretical
  • 2 - Empirical
  • 3 - Generalizability
  • 4 - Design Process
  • 5 - Cross Disciplinary
  • 6 - Meta-Scientific
• Research Platforms
  • DURESS II
  • HEPHAISTOS
  • IMMERSIVE
• Project List

Research Platforms

Empirical research at CEL is performed in both operational and laboratory-based settings. While field research in operational settings is indispensable to ensuring the relevance and validity of theoretical and applied work, laboratory-based work allows more experimental control, research flexibility, and lower cost. From CEL’s inception, researchers have employed computerized laboratory-based simulators as research platforms to develop and verify theoretical and applied research.  Three research platforms are currently in use at CEL:

• DURESS II, a single-operator thermo-hydraulic manual process control microworld.
• HEPHAISTOS, a multi-operator reconfigurable supervisory process control scaled world.
• IMMERSIVE, a single-operator infantry combat identification laboratory task

These three environments provide different support to researchers. While microworld simulators such as DURESS II achieve high tractability (ease and economy of research use), they do so by sacrificing correspondence with specific operational domains. In contrast, the APC simulator is intended to correspond much more closely to the chemical manufacturing process control domain, while sacrificing as little research tractability as possible through theory-based simulator design and operation principles. Because of its more specific research topic, IMMERSIVE resembles a classical laboratory task, using repeated short trials with very tractable data analysis. CEL’s variety of research platforms allows freedom in selecting appropriate investigation strategies for a wide range of topics.