Performance of a Virtual Intelligent Task Assistant for NASA Astronauts Working Remotely during Deep Space Missions

In future long-duration space missions, NASA astronauts will perform tasks without the benefit of real-time support from Mission Control due to distance from Earth. The Virtual Intelligent Task Assistant (VITA) study investigates a technology countermeasure to aid crewmembers with procedural tasks when Mission Control cannot assist. In this study, surrogate crewmembers used VITA in four 45-day simulated missions within NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 6. VITA combines procedure automation with augmented reality multimodal user interfaces to assist hands-free assembly of small rovers. Task assistance based on procedures is provided in a Microsoft HoloLens headset that can present information as augmented reality overlays on the visual field (HoloLens condition). User performance (including usability, workload, and situation awareness) and experience when using VITA is compared to performance with more traditional forms of procedure assistance, such as working with teammates (Team condition) or digital procedures on a tablet (Tablet condition). This study demonstrates that procedures using both the Tablet and HoloLens conditions take less total crew time on average than required when a second crew member replaces MCC support, as needed for the Team condition. It is unique from earlier studies of augmented reality for procedural work in that we evaluated situation awareness (SA) with hands-free augmented reality displays. SA differences were small across all conditions, with one exception. SA task demand for the HoloLens was on average somewhat higher than the other conditions, likely due to usability issues. The usability of the HoloLens was negatively impacted by technology reliability and performance and, to a lesser degree, by insufficient training. Workload and elapsed schedule time were higher for the HoloLens than for both the Tablet and Team conditions. The findings presented are relevant to application areas where users operate remotely from centralized assistance, and available staff to perform tasks are limited.