Designing Remote Collaboration Technologies for Wilderness Search and Rescue

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dc.contributor.advisorTang, Anthony
dc.contributor.advisorNeustaedter, Carman
dc.contributor.authorJones, Brennan David Gorham
dc.contributor.committeememberSharlin, Ehud
dc.contributor.committeememberWillett, Wesley
dc.contributor.committeememberSuzuki, Ryo
dc.contributor.committeememberSemaan, Bryan
dc.date2021-11
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-05T13:35:11Z
dc.date.available2021-07-05T13:35:11Z
dc.date.issued2021-06-28
dc.description.abstractWilderness search and rescue (WSAR) is the search for and extraction of one or more lost people (e.g., hikers, skiers) from a wilderness area. WSAR is time-critical, and even with current technologies, workers still face challenges in effective remote collaboration, information sharing, and awareness. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to understand how user interfaces can be designed to better support WSAR distributed collaboration. I approach this first by understanding how WSAR workers collaborate remotely using today's technologies. In the first phase of my research, I ran an investigative study in which I interviewed WSAR workers and observed a mock WSAR response. My findings demonstrate that the main goal of a system for WSAR distributed collaboration should be to help workers construct and maintain a shared mental model, but there are unique challenges to doing this when scattered and moving around the wilderness. Following this, I designed a prototype of a system for WSAR commanders. This system aims to provide commanders with more implicit awareness of events in the field and the experiences of field teams. It does this through (1) body cameras worn by field teams, streaming photos periodically to the command post; and (2) aggregating existing information channels together into one interface, allowing commanders to explore this information together as part of a bigger picture. I then evaluated this system through a remote user study. I found that the awareness provided by body-camera footage could give commanders additional confidence and comfort while reducing the need for explicit communications with field teams. However, it could also shift the burden of responsibility toward commanders. Overall, this work contributes the following: (1) an understanding of WSAR remote collaboration practices; (2) the design of an interface for providing commanders awareness of events in the field; (3) a method for studying WSAR user-interface technologies remotely through simulated scenarios; and (4) an understanding of the potential opportunities and challenges of new information streams and communication modalities in WSAR. Beyond WSAR, this work contributes more broadly to our understanding of how to design remote collaboration technologies for serious team-based activities in large outdoor environments.en_US
dc.identifier.citationJones, B. D. G. (2021). Designing Remote Collaboration Technologies for Wilderness Search and Rescue (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/38980
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/113590
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyScienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity 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.en_US
dc.subjectHuman-Computer Interactionen_US
dc.subjectComputer-Supported Cooperative Worken_US
dc.subjectCollaborative Computingen_US
dc.subjectSearch and Rescueen_US
dc.subjectDistributed Collaborationen_US
dc.subjectRemote Collaborationen_US
dc.subjectEmergency Responseen_US
dc.subject.classificationComputer Scienceen_US
dc.titleDesigning Remote Collaboration Technologies for Wilderness Search and Rescueen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineComputer Scienceen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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