Two Mississippi State industrial engineers have been honored for research into ways to improve information flow between remote-controlled robots and their human operators.

David B. Kaber, an assistant professor of industrial engineering, and associate professor John M. Usher received the 1999 Jerome H. Ely Human Factors Article Award for their research report on telepresence-the sensation of being present at a remote location.

Now in its second year, "Telepresence in Teleoperations" is the title of Kaber and Draper's four-year research project. Their work, which has broken new ground in the field and is the basis for the award, is supported by a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award given to Kaber in 1997.

Also sharing the Ely Award is industrial psychologist John Draper of the Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory, who conducts telepresence research in conjunction with the two MSU engineers.