Papers
7
Total Citations
256
H-Index
6
About
Mary L. Cummings is a leading authority in human-autonomous systems collaboration, with a career dedicated to understanding how humans and robots can work together safely and effectively. Her research spans supervisory control of multiple robots, human-agent teaming, and risk assessment in complex, high-stakes environments. Cummings pioneered the development of performance metrics for single-operator control of multiple robots, addressing critical questions about team size (fan-out), appropriate levels of autonomy, and operator attention allocation. Her work on modeling operator attention in time-critical systems has been foundational, with her most-cited papers accumulating over 250 citations. Notably, she has extended her expertise into healthcare robotics, examining how to regulate these technologies to maximize benefits while minimizing risks. Cummings has also tackled emerging challenges in aerospace, including risk assessment for novel missions like NASA’s Dragonfly nuclear-powered rotorcraft. Her contributions have shaped both the theoretical understanding of human-robot interaction and practical guidelines for designing robust human-agent teams. A former naval officer and F/A-18 pilot, Cummings brings a unique operational perspective to her research, making her work particularly relevant for students and researchers interested in the human side of autonomous systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Identifying Predictive Metrics for Supervisory Control of Multiple Robots64 citations · 2007
- 3
- 4Modeling Teamwork in Supervisory Control of Multiple Robots28 citations · 2014
- 5Designing for Robust and Effective Teamwork in Human-Agent Teams19 citations · 2016
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- 7