Concepts of user centered automation

The accident statistics of large technical systems have been steadily improved during the last decades. Also the number of fatal accidents in air and surface transportation is decreasing in spite off increased traffic. However, the relative share of so called human errors is increasing across application areas. Hence, for further improved reliability, the functional integration of humans in such systems must be reconsidered. Since the user, in the long run, will not and should not be eliminated by computers this paper reviews basic requirements of a human centered automation. Following an analysis of generic system functions, human factors requirements for automated functions are defined. It is shown how manual functions can be supported by assistance functions, for which a general system architecture and a classification scheme are presented. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.