Designing Interaction for Automated Safety-Critical Systems: Supporting Expertise Before and During Operations
COM3 Level 1
SR11, COM3 01-20
Co-hosted by: Augmented Human Lab and IPAL
Note: Light refreshments will be provided after the seminar.
Please register here to confirm your participation by Wednesday, 25 February 2026.
https://forms.gle/BNJvGkdfx6uPkxpZ6
Abstract:
Automation is increasingly used in safety-critical domains such as drone operations and air traffic control, raising new challenges for human expertise, accountability, and operational safety. Rather than positioning professionals as passive supervisors or fallback operators, recent work in HCI explores how interaction design can support more usable and controllable forms of automation, where users can shape and guide automated behavior.
In this talk, I will present design research projects investigating the role of interactive representations in supporting automated operations across their lifecycle from early preparation to real-time supervision and intervention. I will describe use cases including drone mission preparation and air traffic control systems in which representations and dedicated interactions can support safety reasoning, situational awareness, and the integration of professional expertise with highly automated systems. I will conclude with design perspectives on interaction with automated safety-critical systems and outlines open questions for future research.
Bio:
Jérémie Garcia is an Associate Professor in Human–Computer Interaction at ENAC (French Civil Aviation School), Toulouse, France. With a background in computer science and HCI, he studies how interaction design can support people working with automated and safety-critical systems, particularly in drone operations and future air transportation. His work leverages interactive representations, augmented reality, and multimodal feedback, developed through collaborative design with engineers and practitioners. https://ipal.cnrs.fr/jeremie-garcia-personal-page/