Human Systems Integration for Human Machine Integrated Formations

In 2023, the Army initiated an effort to integrate unmanned systems with Soldiers, creating fighting units referred to as Human Machine Integrated Formations (HMIF). These systems include artificially intelligent robots and other autonomous systems, revolutionizing military operations. However, this shift introduces new challenges for Human Systems Integration (HSI) practitioners in ensuring effective collaboration between humans and machines. Recently, DEVCOM Armaments Center’s Tactical Behavior Research Laboratory (TBRL) has been actively supporting the HMIF efforts with experiments and studies specifically addressing crew configurations, common controllers, user interfaces, and potential limitations of human capacity. This presentation will provide an overview of HSI challenges in HMIF, drawing from the lab’s experience in these critical areas.