Multiple Autonomous Vehicle Extended Reality Immersive Control Systems: A Conceptual Exploration & Empirical Evaluation

Lawton, Bryson Robert Mitchell

Multiple Autonomous Vehicle Extended Reality Immersive Control Systems: A Conceptual Exploration & Empirical Evaluation

dc.contributor.advisor	Maurer, Frank
dc.contributor.author	Lawton, Bryson Robert Mitchell
dc.contributor.committeemember	Costa Sousa, Mario
dc.contributor.committeemember	Ramirez-Serrano, Alex
dc.date	2025-06
dc.date.accessioned	2025-02-10T16:56:27Z
dc.date.available	2025-02-10T16:56:27Z
dc.date.issued	2025-02-05
dc.description.abstract	This research investigates the potential impacts of extended reality technologies on ground control station (GCS) interfaces for multi-vehicle operations. To do so a prototype XR software was developed, designed for multiple autonomous vehicle extended reality immersive control (MAVERIC). A usability study was then conducted to determine the comparative usability of this prototype against VCSi, a modern commercial GCS software, for accomplishing tasks in a flight route planning scenario and multi-drone management scenario. Participants' usability evaluations and feedback revealed that the prototype's XR approach offered unique advantages in enhancing spatial awareness, task performance, and user satisfaction. For both scenarios, participants perceived the MAVERIC approach as generally more intuitive as well as easier and less frustrating to use. Participants found its hands-on spatial interactions offered a more natural and intuitive approach for placing route waypoints in 3D, which they generally perceived as being faster, easier to learn, and supporting better task success compared to VCSi's desktop-style interface. Many also reported its easily scalable immersive workspaces aided situational understanding during multi-drone management workflows while also making them feel more effective at handling its complexity with less cognitive effort. Despite these strengths, limitations such as increased physical demand, ergonomic discomfort, and precise waypoint placement challenges were noted, indicating the need for iterative design improvements. Some participant feedback also indicated that cross-reality GCS interfaces could be valuable to explore, as integrating the strengths of both conventional and XR approaches may help mitigate each other's weaknesses when used together. This work's findings are hoped to inform future research in the XR and MAVERIC research domains, especially those aimed at further exploring and refining our understanding of how XR technologies may be best used to benefit the diverse civilian applications of drones and other robotic vehicles.
dc.identifier.citation	Lawton, B. (2025). Multiple autonomous vehicle extended reality immersive control systems: a conceptual exploration & empirical evaluation (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120746
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	extended reality
dc.subject	virtual reality
dc.subject	robotic vehicle
dc.subject	drone
dc.subject	control
dc.subject	ground control station
dc.subject	human-robot interaction
dc.subject	human-computer interaction
dc.subject	XR
dc.subject	VR
dc.subject	GCS
dc.subject	HRI
dc.subject	HCI
dc.subject.classification	Computer Science
dc.subject.classification	Robotics
dc.title	Multiple Autonomous Vehicle Extended Reality Immersive Control Systems: A Conceptual Exploration & Empirical Evaluation
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Computer Science
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.