Dr. Sato Awarded URCA Grant

Dr. Sato has been awarded the University Research/Creative Projects Awards (URCA) for fiscal year 2026. This internal grant will be used to conduct a pilot study to investigate how human pilots develop trust in an automated agent with anthropomorphic features during flight operations in high-risk environment. Specifically, the proposed research study will utilize a modified flight simulation task supported by an automated agent with varying voice and appearance. Participants will complete this modified flight simulation task across varying levels of risk. The findings will provide pilot data to support future applications for external funding and contribute to advancing human-robot teaming in aviation.