Swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, or drones) are envisioned to transform various fields, from emergency response to law enforcement and military operations. Drone swarms provide scalable, adaptable, and decentralized solutions for dynamic work environments. However, the successful integration of these multi-agent systems into real-world settings presents significant challenges, particularly in terms of how humans can safely and effectively interact with and control these systems. Human-Swarm Interaction (HSI) aims to address these challenges by exploring how human operators can manage multiple drones in a cohesive manner, even under highly complex, uncertain conditions.

This thesis studies the problem of designing effective interaction mechanisms and interfaces for human operators to command drone swarms, specifically addressing challenges such as managing a large number of drones, supporting operators’ situational awareness, and balancing between centralized and decentralized control. The research highlights the necessity of rethinking conventional approaches by introducing alternative conceptual models, such as the "choir" metaphor, which re-imagines drone swarms as coordinated, semi-centralized ensembles rather than purely emergent, decentralized collectives. This metaphor aims to balance the collective, often unpredictable behavior of drone swarms with the predictable, directed actions needed in operational environments. By demonstrating how this metaphor can be operationalized in an HSI system architecture, the thesis provides new avenues for conceptualizing human interaction with autonomous systems.

Using a design research approach incorporating multiple-case study and scenario-based design activities to envision future swarm application in dialogue with prospective end users, the thesis develops and evaluates prototypes that embody these nuanced HSI concepts. The interface prototypes draw design inspiration from Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games. These elements include group commands, high-level mission planning, and resource pooling to create a hybrid interaction model that allows operators to maintain both a broad overview and precise control of multiple autonomous and collaborating drones. Domain expert evaluations of these prototypes in contexts such as firefighting and airport management validate the practical utility of these concepts.

The findings emphasize the value of adopting a Human-Technology-Organization (HTO) perspective in the design of HSI systems. Rather than focusing solely on the interaction between humans and technology, this systems-thinking approach acknowledges that drone swarms must be integrated into larger organizational frameworks, such as emergency response command structures or airport ground operations teams. It demonstrates that successful deployment requires accounting for the broader organizational context, including roles, workflows, and coordination needs. This holistic approach to HSI system design ensures that drone swarms not only meet technical performance criteria, such as reliability, responsiveness, and scalability, but also align with human and organizational needs, facilitating their adoption and effective use in a wide range of real-world scenarios. Ultimately, these contributions are intended to bridge the gap between theoretical models of swarm control and practical deployment, advancing both the field of HSI and the broader adoption of drone swarm technologies.

Svärmar av obemannade luftfarkoster (UAV, eller drönare) förväntas omvandla flera områden, exempelvis räddningsinsatser, brottsbekämpning, och militäroperationer. Drönarsvärmar innebar skalbara, anpassningsbara, och decentraliserade lösningar for dynamiska arbetsuppgifter. Den lyckade integreringen av dessa multi-agent-system i verkliga miljöer innebar dock betydande utmaningar, särskilt med avseende på hur människor säkert och effektivt interagerar med och kontrollerar dessa system. Forskningsfältet Människa-Svärm Interaktion (MSI) syftar till att möta dessa utmaningar genom att undersöka hur mänskliga operatorer kan hantera flera drönare på ett sammanhängande vis, även under komplexa och osäkra förhållanden.

Denna avhandling utreder problemet att utforma effektiva och säkra interaktionsmekanismer och gränssnitt for mänskliga operatorer att leda drönarsvärmar, specifikt genom att adressera utmaningar som att hantera ett stort antal drönare, stödja operatorers situationsmedvetenhet, och balansera mellan centraliserad och decentraliserad kontroll. Avhandlingen betonar vikten av att ifrågasatta konventionella tillvägagångssätt genom att introducera alternativa konceptuella modeller, såsom "kör"-metaforen, som omtolkar drönarsvärmar som koordinerade, semicentraliserade ensembler snarare än rent decentraliserade kollektiv. Denna metafor syftar till att balansera det kollektiva, ofta oförutsägbara beteendet hos drönarsvärmar med de förutsägbara, riktade handlingar som behövs i operativa miljöer. Genom att visa hur denna metafor kan operationaliseras i en MSI-systemarkitektur, erbjuder avhandlingen nya sätt att konceptualisera mänsklig interaktion med autonoma system.

Genom att tillämpa en designforskningsmetod som innefattar fallstudier och scenariobaserade designaktiviteter för att föreställa sig framtida svärmtillämpningar i dialog med potentiella slutanvändare, utvecklar och utvärderar avhandlingen prototyper som manifesterar dessa nyanserade MSI-koncept. Gränssnittens prototyper drar designinspiration från realtidsstrategispel (RTS). Dessa element inkluderar enhetshantering och kommandon på gruppnivå, strategisk uppdragsplanering, och resursdelning för att skapa en hybrid interaktionsmodell som gör det möjligt för operatörer att både bibehålla en bred lägesbild och utöva precis kontroll över flera autonoma och samverkande drönare. Domänexperters utvärderingar av dessa prototyper i arbetskontexter som brandbekämpning och flygplatsledning påvisar den praktiska användbarheten av dessa koncept.

Resultaten betonar värdet av att anta ett Människa-Teknik-Organisation (MTO)-perspektiv vid utformningen av MSI-system. Snarare än att enbart fokusera på interaktionen mellan människor och teknik, erkänner detta systemtänkande tillvägagångssätt att drönarsvärmar måste integreras i större organisatoriska ramar, såsom ledningsstrukturer for räddningsinsatser eller markoperativa team på flygplatser. Det visar att framgångsrik implementering av drönarsvärmar kräver att systemutvecklare tar hänsyn till det bredare organisatoriska sammanhanget, inklusive roller, arbetsflöden, och samverkansbehov. Detta holistiska tillvägagångssatt för utformningen av MSI-system säkerställer att drönarsvärmar inte bara uppfyller tekniska prestandakriterier, såsom tillförlitlighet, responsivitet, och skalbarhet, utan också överensstämmer med mänskliga och organisatoriska behov, vilket underlättar deras införande och effektiv användning i en mängd olika tillämpningsscenarier. Över lag är dessa forskningsbidrag avsedda att överbrygga gapet mellan teoretiska modeller för svärmstyrning och praktisk implementering, och därmed avancera och främja både MSI-området och den bredare användningen av svärmteknologier.

This paper proposes a paradigm shift in how digital publics areconceptualised and modelled. Current platform monetisation relieson reductive personalisation metrics that shape incentives acrossinfrastructure, interface, and user interaction—producing systemiceffects detrimental to civic resilience and information integrity.We argue for a reconceptualisation of digital publics as emergentsociotechnical collectives, drawing on modelling approaches fromlive event and civic design. We outline a multi-method programmecombining tabletop games, megagames, and simulations to developand test new metrics that support alternative incentives and human-centred platform governance.

This paper presents a novel framework for modelling attention and cognitive control in human-swarm interaction (HSI) and Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT) more broadly. Using a maritime search and rescue (SAR) scenario as a case study, we integrate the Joint Control Framework (JCF) with the phenomenological Sphere of Attention (SOA) model to analyse how swarm operators' attention might have to shift across multiple levels of abstraction and system components in a future-oriented design scenario. Our analysis highlights the operators' trajectories of attention as they move between high-level mission goals and specific low-level system control actions. The resulting model suggests that the required attention shifts would be primarily serial, allowing for smooth transitions between tasks, while radical shifts may indicate breakdowns in information presentation or system support. We discuss the implications of our framework for designing future HSI systems and user interfaces, emphasising the need for systems that align with operators' attentional demands, thus supporting more effective and intuitive interactions in complex, dynamic environments. Future work will need to include further evaluation of the framework's broader applicability and relationship to cognitive constructs in Ergonomics.

In search and rescue (SAR) operations, drones can provide clear and timely situational overview data and object identification. However, the current one-to-one relationship between operators and drones limits scalability. Swarm solutions have been proposed to overcome this limitation, but there are few examples of control concepts for SAR operations. Human-swarm interaction (HSI) presents new challenges in terms of task design, control loops, communication, and managing uncertainty. We present an exploratory study of integrating drone swarms into SAR organizations, with a focus on challenges and opportunities for HSI. Our findings highlight the need for a holistic approach to drone swarm systems design, development, and integration. Careful system and task design is vital to reduce operator workload, maximize situational awareness, and maintaining effective communication among SAR team members. Building trust through technology exposure and training is also important. We identify several key research avenues, including adaptive and intelligent swarm control mechanisms, trust dynamics between operators and swarms, participatory design work, legal and operational frameworks, and the organizational impact of drone swarm integration. Overall, this paper contributes to HSI and SAR research by addressing research gaps concerning the integration effects and constraints of drone swarms in current work settings. The study highlights the potential for implementing drone swarms in semi-voluntary SAR organizations, while emphasizing the importance of considering the tasks and interactions between humans and drones when assessing overall system performance.