Visualization of dynamic processes: function-based displays for human-intelligent system interaction

The authors describe the development of an integrated function-based visualization as part of a tool set for enhanced cooperation between artificial-intelligence-based systems and their human partners. The domain of interest for this work is aerospace fault management, where a dynamic process is monitored for anomalous conditions by a joint cognitive system consisting of human operators and intelligent diagnostic systems. The application domain is the NASA Space Shuttle Freedom's thermal control system. The point of developing a function-based visualization was to enhance cooperation between the intelligent system (IS) and human portions of a joint cognitive system. One of the key results is the potential for function-based displays to serve as a framework for the coordination and presentation of IS information otherwise hidden from the user.<>