This book focuses on contemporary human factors issues within the design of soldier systems and describes how they are currently being investigated and addressed by the U.S. Army to enhance soldier performance and effectiveness. Designing Soldier Systems approaches human factors issues from three main perspectives. In the first section, Chapters 1-5 focus on complexity introduced by technology, its impact on human performance, and how issues are being addressed to reduce cognitive workload. In the second section, Chapters 6-10 concentrate on obstacles imposed by operational and environmental conditions on the battlefield and how they are being mitigated through the use of technology. The third section, Chapters 11-21, is dedicated to system design and evaluation including the tools, techniques and technologies used by researchers who design soldier systems to overcome human physical and cognitive performance limitations as well as the obstacles imposed by environmental and operations conditions that are encountered by soldiers. The book will appeal to an international multidisciplinary audience interested in the design and development of systems for military use, including defense contractors, program management offices, human factors engineers, human system integrators, system engineers, and computer scientists. Relevant programs of study include those in human factors, cognitive science, neuroscience, neuroergonomics, psychology, training and education, and engineering.
'The staff of the Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Division have brought together a remarkably comprehensive compendium of their recent human factors and ergonomics research. It covers everything from hearing protection to human-robot interaction and human-system integration. While it focuses on military systems, the research results will be useful to a much broader range of system developers in industry and other government agencies.' Richard W. Pew, Principal Scientist, Raytheon BBN Technologies, USA 'Designing Soldier Systems highlights the benefits of reverse systems engineering case studies, stressing the need for more up-front human systems integration research and user centered design practices for developmental and fielded military systems. US Army human engineering scientists elucidate trials, tribulations, and lessons for bringing soldier-centric design and operational procedures to successful mission accomplishment in the harsh environments of modern technology-centered battlefields.' Gerald P. Krueger, PhD, CPE, Colonel, US Army (retired) 'This effort is an extraordinary integration of emerging human design issues combined with a new approach to traditional topics. No human factors practitioner or theorist should miss this book.' Michael Drillings, PhD
