Dmitry M. Boyarinov

Background. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being actively implemented in various fields: scientific, industrial, military, and others. At the same time, the need for training personnel and ensuring the effectiveness of UAV operators’ professional performance is exponentially increasing. When applying engineering psychology approaches, it is common to describe the operator’s activity by assessing, among other things, the structure of its conceptual model. By studying the structure of the conceptual model — that is, describing the relationships and contributions of individual components within the conceptual model — it is possible to determine the level of an operator’s readiness to perform tasks independently. At the same time, by considering the specifics of how the conceptual model components are formed, effective operator training programmes can be developed in a short timeframe.

Objective. The study is focused on the analysis of UAV operators’ professional activities, taking into account the need to develop and use conceptual models to successfully solve professional tasks.

Study Participants. 10 operators — heads of unmanned aerial vehicle units.

Methods. A series of interviews was conducted to analyse the external aspects of activity. Elaboration of a professiogram and analysis of theoretical approaches to understanding the conceptual model were involved.

Results. A professiogram was developed, describing the tasks, work process, and equipment used by the UAV operators, confirming the classification of this new type of work as operator work. Based on the analysis of theoretical approaches to understanding the conceptual model and taking into account the multi-level components necessary for a detailed description of its structure for UAV operators, a comprehensive definition is proposed in which the identified components are hierarchically organised. The analysis of individual components of the conceptual model and proposed methods for its experimental study are also presented.

Conclusions. An approach for a qualitative analysis of the professional performance of UAV operators is presented. It includes studying the external (creating a professiogram) and internal (conceptual models) aspects of their work. Using a professiogram, it is possible to take into account the characteristics of operators of various UAV types, and studying the conceptual model will allow us to assess the process of developing and shaping professionalism in UAV operators.