Some NASA contributions to human factors engineering: A survey

This survey presents the NASA contributions to the state of the art of human factors engineering, and indicates that these contributions have a variety of applications to nonaerospace activities. Emphasis is placed on contributions relative to man's sensory, motor, decisionmaking, and cognitive behavior and on applications that advance human factors technology

V/STOLAND digital avionics system for XV-15 tilt rotor

A digital flight control system for the tilt rotor research aircraft provides sophisticated navigation, guidance, control, display and data acquisition capabilities for performing terminal area navigation, guidance and control research. All functions of the XV-15 V/STOLAND system were demonstrated on the NASA-ARC S-19 simulation facility under a comprehensive dynamic acceptance test. The most noteworthy accomplishments of the system are: (1) automatic configuration control of a tilt-rotor aircraft over the total operating range; (2) total hands-off landing to touchdown on various selectable straight-in glide slopes and on a flight path that includes a two-revolution helix; (3) automatic guidance along a programmed three-dimensional reference flight path; (4) navigation data for the automatic guidance computed on board, based on VOR/DME, TACAN, or MLS navid data; and (5) integration of a large set of functions in a single computer, utilizing 16k words of storage for programs and data

Conceptual design study for an advanced cab and visual system, volume 2

The performance, design, construction and testing requirements are defined for developing an advanced cab and visual system. The rotorcraft system integration simulator is composed of the advanced cab and visual system and the rotorcraft system motion generator, and is part of an existing simulation facility. User's applications for the simulator include rotorcraft design development, product improvement, threat assessment, and accident investigation

Development of a Flight Simulation Training Device and Remote Pilot Station: The URBLOG Unmanned Hybrid Airship Vehicle Case

With the growing number of passengers and technological advancements, the Aeronautical industry is keen on new and reinvented types of transportation. New interest in airship technology has grown in the past few years to enhance its flight capabilities. A new solution for urban mobility appeared, with new airship design. This airship, named URBLOG, combines the traditional airship concept with rotorcraft technology. Being a new concept, it requires methods and solutions to reach its new goals. Simulation emerges as a solution to design, test and validate methods at a low cost when developing a new vehicle prototype. Concepts can be optimized and improve their time to the market. In addition to simulation of the vehicle for design proposes, it is also possible to apply it on Flight Simulator software to understand its flying characteristics and to design its synthetic environment, as a flight simulation training device (FSTD). In this work, an unmanned version of the URBLOG is firstly designed on the CAD software Blender® and is later implemented in flight simulation software Lockheed Martin Prepar3D®, reflecting the main purpose and characteristics of the vehicle. A virtual cockpit is designed, and the flight simulation training device (FSTD) is defined, which can be integrated into the remote pilot station (RPS) of the URBLOG’s remote piloted aircraft system (RPAS). This is developed considering the operator’s point of view and the human factors considerations applicable to cockpit design and remote pilot stations (RPS). A basic training programme is then produced to train the unmanned vehicle operator of that station. To verify and validate the programme and that synthetic environment, a human in the loop study is conducted.Com o crescente número de passageiros e avanços tecnológicos, a indústria aeronáutica está atualmente interessada em novos tipos de transporte. Nos últimos anos surgiu um novo interesse em dirigíveis, combinando novas tecnologias para aprimorar as suas capacidades de voo. Baseado nesta necessidade, surgiu uma nova solução para a mobilidade urbana, com um novo tipo de dirigível. Este dirigível, de nome URBLOG, combina o modo de voo tradicional de um dirigível com a tecnologia de aeronaves de asa rotativa, e sendo um novo conceito, requer métodos e soluções para atingir os seus novos objetivos. A simulação do voo aplica-se como uma solução de baixo custo para desenvolver o novo protótipo do veículo, de modo a projetar, testar e validar os métodos e soluções em questão. Estes conceitos podem ser otimizados e melhorados, agilizando a sua implementação no mercado. Além da simulação do veículo para o desenvolvimento do projeto proposto, ao aplicá-lo em software de simulação de voo, é possível igualmente entender as suas características de voo e projetar o seu ambiente sintético de treino, como um dispositivo de treino de simulação de voo (FSTD). Neste trabalho, um protótipo não tripulado do URBLOG é primeiramente projetado no software de desenho assistido (CAD) por computador Blender® e posteriormente implementado no software de simulação de voo Lockheed Martin Prepar3D®, onde é criado o seu modelo de voo refletindo o seu principal objetivo e características do veículo. É projetado um cockpit virtual bem como o seu FSTD, podendo estes ser integrados numa estação de piloto remoto (RPS) do sistema de aeronave pilotada remotamente (RPAS) onde o URBLOG se inclui. Este desenvolvimento é focado no ponto de vista do operador bem como os fatores humanos aplicáveis ao design de cockpits e das estações de piloto remoto (RPS). Um programa básico de treino é produzido de modo a treinar os operadores do veículo não tripulado nesse ambiente sintético e validar as suas funcionalidades. Para validar e verificar também esse programa, é criado um teste onde a componente humana, por via de vários utilizadores de teste, é incluída nesse mesmo ambiente sintético, simulando uma possível operação do URBLOG

A piloted simulation study of data link ATC message exchange

Data link Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Air Traffic Service (ATS) message and data exchange offers the potential benefits of increased flight safety and efficiency by reducing communication errors and allowing more information to be transferred between aircraft and ground facilities. Digital communication also presents an opportunity to relieve the overloading of ATC radio frequencies which hampers message exchange during peak traffic hours in many busy terminal areas. A piloted simulation study to develop pilot factor guidelines and assess potential flight crew benefits and liabilities from using data link ATC message exchange was completed. The data link ATC message exchange concept, implemented on an existing navigation computer Control Display Unit (CDU) required maintaining a voice radio telephone link with an appropriate ATC facility. Flight crew comments, scanning behavior, and measurements of time spent in ATC communication activities for data link ATC message exchange were compared to similar measures for simulated conventional voice radio operations. The results show crew preference for the quieter flight deck environment and a perception of lower communication workload

Design of lightning protection for a full-authority digital engine control

The steps and procedures are described which are necessary to achieve a successful lightning-protection design for a state-of-the-art Full-Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system. The engine and control systems used as examples are fictional, but the design and verification methods are real. Topics discussed include: applicable airworthiness regulation, selection of equipment transient design and control levels for the engine/airframe and intra-engine segments of the system, the use of cable shields, terminal-protection devices and filter circuits in hardware protection design, and software approaches to minimize upset potential. Shield terminations, grounding, and bonding are also discussed, as are the important elements of certification and test plans, and the role of tests and analyses. Also included are examples of multiple-stroke and multiple-burst testing. A review of design pitfalls and challenges, and status of applicable test standards such as RTCA DO-160, Section 22, are presented

Analytical design and simulation evaluation of an approach flight director system for a jet STOL aircraft

A program was undertaken to develop design criteria and operational procedures for STOL transport aircraft. As part of that program, a series of flight tests shall be performed in an Augmentor Wing Jet STOL Aircraft. In preparation for the flight test programs, an analytical study was conducted to gain an understanding of the characteristics of the vehicle for manual control, to assess the relative merits of the variety of manual control techniques available with attitude and thrust vector controllers, and to determine what improvements can be made over manual control of the bare airframe by providing the pilot with suitable command guidance information and by augmentation of the bare airframe dynamics. The objective of the study is to apply closed-loop pilot/vehicle analysis techniques to the analysis of manual flight control of powered-lift STOL aircraft in the landing approach and to the design and experimental verification of an advanced flight director display

Assessing V and V Processes for Automation with Respect to Vulnerabilities to Loss of Airplane State Awareness

Automation has contributed substantially to the sustained improvement of aviation safety by minimizing the physical workload of the pilot and increasing operational efficiency. Nevertheless, in complex and highly automated aircraft, automation also has unintended consequences. As systems become more complex and the authority and autonomy (A&A) of the automation increases, human operators become relegated to the role of a system supervisor or administrator, a passive role not conducive to maintaining engagement and airplane state awareness (ASA). The consequence is that flight crews can often come to over rely on the automation, become less engaged in the human-machine interaction, and lose awareness of the automation mode under which the aircraft is operating. Likewise, the complexity of the system and automation modes may lead to poor understanding of the interaction between a mode of automation and a particular system configuration or phase of flight. These and other examples of mode confusion often lead to mismanaging the aircraft"TM"s energy state or the aircraft deviating from the intended flight path. This report examines methods for assessing whether, and how, operational constructs properly assign authority and autonomy in a safe and coordinated manner, with particular emphasis on assuring adequate airplane state awareness by the flight crew and air traffic controllers in off-nominal and/or complex situations

Functional requirements for the man-vehicle systems research facility

The NASA Ames Research Center proposed a man-vehicle systems research facility to support flight simulation studies which are needed for identifying and correcting the sources of human error associated with current and future air carrier operations. The organization of research facility is reviewed and functional requirements and related priorities for the facility are recommended based on a review of potentially critical operational scenarios. Requirements are included for the experimenter's simulation control and data acquisition functions, as well as for the visual field, motion, sound, computation, crew station, and intercommunications subsystems. The related issues of functional fidelity and level of simulation are addressed, and specific criteria for quantitative assessment of various aspects of fidelity are offered. Recommendations for facility integration, checkout, and staffing are included