FortiFly is rapidly expanding what’s possible for real-time workload identification and assessment. As operators manage increasingly sophisticated missions, understanding where their attention is directed — and why — becomes critical for safety and performance. That’s where AWIC comes in.

The Automatic Widget Identification Component (AWIC) is FortiFly’s AI-enabled capability that detects, locates, and tracks mission-critical interface elements in real time. When paired with gaze-tracking hardware (up to and including XR goggles) and AI-enabled head tracking, AWIC determines not only where an operator is looking, but which elements they are visually interacting with in the context of the mission. As a result, AWIC enables us to measure visual attention and identify the cognitive burden on humans working in high-tempo environments.

Multi-UAS Operations: A Growing Complexity

As the aviation industry moves toward Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and “one-to-many” supervisory roles, a single operator may manage a fleet of unmanned aircraft at once. These missions feature dynamic elements within their interfaces including icons that change color, rotate, move across displays, and produce alerts that often times require immediate interpretation and action.

In the example shown below, AWIC is applied to a live flight map interface, continuously tracking how operators interact with multiple moving aircraft icons. By knowing exactly which assets demand attention, AWIC reveals how workload shifts as the mission evolves.

Enhancing Situational Awareness and Safety

During unexpected incidents or system deviations, operators can quickly become overloaded. AWIC provides timely insight into what they’re seeing — and what they may be missing. With that information, systems can:

• Highlight critical alerts

• Reallocate tasks across team members or automation

• Detect and prevent underload and overload before they impact mission safety

AWIC maintains workloads within safe limits, ultimately resulting in more resilient operations and preventing attention failures that could lead to serious flight incidents.

More Innovative Training and Performance Evaluation

In training environments, AWIC helps instructors understand how operators handle rising task demands and where their attention begins to slip. With that insight, teams can:

• Personalize training based on an individual’s strengths and growth areas

• Know when an operator may need additional support, either from another crew member or automated tools

• Prepare operators for poor weather, communication delays, or unexpected task saturation

These insights provide organizations with data-driven evidence for safe operational capacity scaling.

Delivering Clarity in Complexity

Multi-UAS operations represent a new frontier in autonomy and remote aviation — and with that comes new human performance challenges. AWIC equips teams with the real-time visibility needed to maintain situational awareness, balance workload, and improve mission outcomes.

AWIC helps ensure that no critical cue goes unnoticed by seamlessly connecting operator attention to system behavior.

FortiFly is bringing clarity to the complexity of multi-UAS operations. Stay tuned for more updates.