CSRA has been awarded a $7.5 million U.S. Air Force contract to conduct research and development on mission-critical processes and tools used by airmen, the company announced Thursday.

The single-award contract covers a six-year period, the company said in a statement.

The contract will support the Air Force Research Laboratory in conducting human-centered research and development.

The work seeks to understand how humans interact with technology and how the interaction is affected by trust.

CSRA will help design and execute research in both the lab and the field.

The research results will provide a better understanding of how technologies and user interfaces should be designed in the future to improve tool safety and performance.

CSRA will look at how interpersonal trust and socio-emotional elements influence trust development and will identify methods that facilitate human trust calibration and transparency within human-machine systems.

The Air Force has designated human-machine engagement as a primary research thrust for ensuring effective pilots, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operators, analysts, maintenance specialists and human-robot teams.