This paper describes the progress of directional-drilling-automation systems along the cognitive functions and levels of automation as defined by the Levels of Automation Taxonomy (LOAT) hierarchy introduced by the Drilling Systems Automation Roadmap Industry Initiative. LOAT is based on incremental automation of the four cognitive functions of interaction. Levels of human/system interaction are described on a nine-point scale ranging from fully manual, to levels of system support for the human, to levels of automation overseen by the human, to full automation.
The LOAT Hierarchy
LOAT is a powerful tool for mapping the transition from a purely manual process, to the degree of automation that any system can achieve in the early transition phase, through a timeline to full automation. The transition levels from manual to autonomous were likened to the four cognitive functions that occur in both human interaction with machinery and automated interaction with machinery.
