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Katya Arquilla
Assistant Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
Friday, Feb. 3 | 9:30 a.m. | AERO 114

Abstract: Despite recent advances in robotics and autonomy, humans are still critical to the success of operations in real, unpredictable environments.Ìý Many aspects of human behavior and performance are challenging to quantify and model, limiting the development of technologies that successfully support and augment human operational teams.Ìý In this talk, I will introduce research efforts taking a human-centered approach toward augmenting human-automation interactions and developing human-guided behavioral health interventions. Application areas include in rover planning, aircraft pilot training protocols, and long-duration spaceflight missions, where NASA’s Human Research Program has identified critical risks and research gaps in effective human-system integration.

I will speak in more detail about novel solutions to the challenge of calibrating human trust in automation, highlighting Situational Trust Cues (STCs).Ìý STCs prompt the user to re-calibrate their own trust of an automated system when there are situational/environmental changes that impact the capabilities of the automation.Ìý This approach removes the need for real-time monitoring of human trust and leverages human capabilities to adapt to technology rather than considering the human to be a passive system user.

Bio: Katya Arquilla is a Boeing Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Ìý She received her BS degree in Astrophysics from Rice University in 2014 and her MS (2018) and PhD (2021) degrees in Aerospace Engineering Sciences with a focus in Bioastronautics from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she was a Draper Fellow.Ìý She joined MIT as a postdoctoral fellow in 2021 and as an Assistant Professor in 2022. Beyond her research, Katya is passionate about inclusive pedagogy and efforts to build community in academia.