Growing military requirements and shorter timelines are placing greater demands on Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets. At the same time, advances in sensor technology have vastly increased the quantity and types of imagery data available to support ISR missions. Together, these factors are driving toward greater reliance on automated processing and exploitation techniques, such as automated target recognition (ATR) and sensor fusion. While there are substantial

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... s associated with the development of effective methods for processing sensor data, a critical component is the role of the human operator. Often, ATR and sensor fusion technology is designed to aid the analyst, but the final decision rests with the human. The role of the human raises two related sets of issues: Optimization of the Interface: A system that accurately extracts information from sensor data is only of value if the information is successfully conveyed to the user. The design of the human-computer interface, presentation and visualization of results, and the control that the user exerts over the flow of information are all critical factors in the development of a successful system. Evaluation with the Human in the Loop: Assessing the benefits of ATR/sensor fusions assistance raises interesting methodological challenges. We will review the critical issues associated with evaluations of humanin-the-loop systems and present a methodology for conducting these evaluations. Experimental design issues addressed in this discussion include training, learning effects, and human factors issues.