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Human detection of drone invasion in a low-altitude airspace: An application of signal detection theory

  • Kai Way Li
  • , Lu Peng*
  • , Caijun Zhao
  • *Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

    Abstract

    A field study was conducted to investigate the sensitivity of human participants in detecting the invasion of a drone in the airspace. A Phantom 4 quadcopter was remotely controlled to hovering at air locations inside or outside of a stadium. Twenty participants were requested to determine whether the drone has invaded in the test field or not on a five-point scale. The participants also responded whether they have heard the sound of the drone. The nonparametric measures of the sensitivity of drone invasion detection, or P(A), were calculated. The results indicated that the distance between the drone and the boundary of the airspace significantly affected the P(A) while the effects of drone altitude were not significant. The participants were not unbiased detectors. They tended to respond “probably yes,” in general, when they spotted a drone near the airspace. The hearing of the sound of the drone provided partial cues in drone invasion detection.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)78-85
    JournalHuman Factors and Ergonomics In Manufacturing
    Volume29
    Issue number1
    Online published21 Aug 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jan 2019

    Funding

    The authors thank S. J. Chang, a graduate student with the Department of Industrial Management at Chung Hua University, for his assistance in the study. This study was supported partially by a funding from the Hunan Institute of Technology (HQ16004).

    Research Keywords

    • airspace invasion
    • rating scale task
    • response bias
    • signal detection
    • unmanned aircraft vehicle

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