The out-of-the-loop Brain: A neuroergonomic approach of the human automation interaction

The world surrounding us has become increasingly technological. Nowadays, the influence of automation is perceived in each aspect of everyday life. If automation makes some aspects of life easier, faster and safer, empirical data also suggests that it could have negative performance and safety consequences regarding human operators, a set of difficulties called the “out-of-the-loop” (OOTL) performance problem. However, after decades of research, this phenomenon remains difficult to grasp and counter. In this paper, we propose a neuroergonomics approach to treat this phenomenon. We first describe how automation impacts human operators. Then, we present the current knowledge relative to this OOTL phenomenon. Finally, we describe how recent insights in neurosciences can help characterize, quantify and compensate this phenomenon.