Approach to search optimum cooperative operation

Approaches to obtaining insight about ideal human-centered automation, ideal man-machine systems or optimum cooperative operation are discussed. There are four categories (1-4) and seven approaches (i-vii), as follows. (1) The conventional approach: there is neither a methodology nor requirements-(i) technology-centered automation (new technology is developed and then adopted). (2) The top-down approach: this is not the methodology but the requirements-(ii) human-centered automation (the design process of human-centered automation, in which man-machine allocation is discussed, is proposed). (3) The probabilistic approach: man-machine allocation discussion is difficult because the deviation of human reliability is too wide-(iii) probabilistic safety assessment (plant-level allocation can be discussed using the assessment results), and (iv) reliability modeling (system-level allocation is achieved by considering human reliability). (4) The bottom-up approach: cooperative operation is autonomously generated and understood by everyone from extensive simulations with a failure event generator (a new concept for human-centered automation is obtained by this new methodology)-(v) a full automation trial, (vi) procedure-oriented automation, and (vii) an agent-oriented autonomous decentralized system (the role of the operation support system is still important even if human-centered automation is attained).