Human factors aspects of air traffic control

An overview of human factors problems associated with the operation of present and future air traffic control systems is presented. A description is included of those activities and tasks performed by air traffic controllers at each operational position within the present system. Judgemental data obtained from controllers concerning psychological dimensions related to these tasks and activities are also presented. The analysis includes consideration of psychophysiological dimensions of human performance. The role of the human controller in present air traffic control systems and his predicted role in future systems is described, particularly as that role changes as the result of the system's evolution towards a more automated configuration. Special attention is directed towards problems of staffing, training, and system operation. A series of ten specific research and development projects are recommended and suggested work plans for their implementation are included

Design of automated system for management of arrival traffic

The design of an automated air traffic control system based on a hierarchy of advisory tools for controllers is described. Compatibility of the tools with the human controller, a key objective of the design, is achieved by a judicious selection of tasks to be automated and careful attention to the design of the controller system interface. The design comprises three interconnected subsystems referred to as the Traffic Management Advisor, the Descent Advisor, and the Final Approach Spacing Tool. Each of these subsystems provides a collection of tools for specific controller positions and tasks. The design of two of these tools, the Descent Advisor, which provides automation tools for managing descent traffic, and the Traffic Management Advisor, which generates optimum landing schedules is focused on. The algorithms, automation modes, and graphical interfaces incorporated in the design are described

Examination of planning under uncertainty algorithms for cooperative unmanned aerial vehicles

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-124).(cont.) of UAVs and targets. Additionally, sensitivity trials are used to capture each algorithm's robustness to real world planning environments where planners must negotiate incomplete or inaccurate system models. The mission performances of both methods degrade as the quality of their system models worsenCooperation is essential for numerous tasks. Cooperative planning seeks actions to achieve a team's common set of objectives by balancing both the benefits and the costs of execution. Uncertainty in action outcomes and external threats complicates this task. Planning algorithms can be generally classified into two categories: exact and heuristic. In this thesis, an exact planner, based on Markov decision processes, and a heuristic, receding horizon controller are evaluated in typical planning problems. The exact planner searches for an optimal policy with global contingencies, while the heuristic controller sequentially approximates the global plans over local horizons. Generally, the two planners trade mission and computational performance. Although the results are limited to specific problem instances, they provide characterizations of the algorithms' capabilities and limitations. The exact planner's policy provides an optimal course of action for all possible conditions over the mission duration; however, the algorithm consumes substantial computational resources. On the other hand, the heuristic approach does not guarantee optimality, but may form worthy plans without evaluating every contingency. On a fully-observable battlefield, the planners coordinate a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to obtain a maximum reward by destroying targets. Stochastic components, including UAV capability and attrition, represent uncertainty in the simulated missions. For a majority of the examined scenarios, the exact planner exhibits statistically better mission performance at considerably greater computational cost in comparison to the heuristic controller. Scalability studies show that these trends intensify in larger missions that include increasing numbersby Rikin Bharat Gandhi.S.M

Advanced Hybrid Particulate Collector Project Management Plan

As the consumption of energy increases, its impact on ambient air quality has become a significant concern. Recent studies indicate that fine particles from coal combustion cause health problems as well as atmospheric visibility impairment. These problems are further compounded by the concentration of hazardous trace elements such as mercury, cadmium, selenium, and arsenic in fine particles. Therefore, a current need exists to develop superior, but economical, methods to control emissions of fine particles. Since most of the toxic metals present in coal will be in particulate form, a high level of fine- particle collection appears to be the best method of overall air toxics control. However, over 50% of mercury and a portion of selenium emissions are in vapor form and cannot be collected in particulate control devices. Therefore, this project will focus on developing technology not only to provide ultrahigh collection efficiency of particulate air toxic emissions, but also to capture vapor- phase trace metals such as mercury and selenium. Currently, the primary state-of-the-art technologies for particulate control are fabric filters (baghouses) and electrostatic precipitators (ESPs). However, they both have limitations that prevent them from achieving ultrahigh collection of fine particulate matter and vapor-phase trace metals. The objective of this project is to develop a highly reliable advanced hybrid particulate collector (AHPC) that can provide > 99.99 % particulate collection efficiency for all particle sizes between 0.01 and 50 14m, is applicable for use with all U.S. coals, and is cost-0443competitive with existing technologies. Phase I of the project is organized into three tasks: Task I - Project Management, Reporting, and Subcontract Consulting Task 2 - Modeling, Design, and Construction of 200-acfm AHPC Model Task 3 - Experimental Testing and Subcontract Consultin

Flight deck automation: Promises and realities

Issues of flight deck automation are multifaceted and complex. The rapid introduction of advanced computer-based technology onto the flight deck of transport category aircraft has had considerable impact both on aircraft operations and on the flight crew. As part of NASA's responsibility to facilitate an active exchange of ideas and information among members of the aviation community, a NASA/FAA/Industry workshop devoted to flight deck automation, organized by the Aerospace Human Factors Research Division of NASA Ames Research Center. Participants were invited from industry and from government organizations responsible for design, certification, operation, and accident investigation of transport category, automated aircraft. The goal of the workshop was to clarify the implications of automation, both positive and negative. Workshop panels and working groups identified issues regarding the design, training, and procedural aspects of flight deck automation, as well as the crew's ability to interact and perform effectively with the new technology. The proceedings include the invited papers and the panel and working group reports, as well as the summary and conclusions of the conference

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 184

This bibliography lists 139 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in August 1978

Advanced flight deck/crew station simulator functional requirements

This report documents a study of flight deck/crew system research facility requirements for investigating issues involved with developing systems, and procedures for interfacing transport aircraft with air traffic control systems planned for 1985 to 2000. Crew system needs of NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and industry were investigated and reported. A matrix of these is included, as are recommended functional requirements and design criteria for simulation facilities in which to conduct this research. Methods of exploiting the commonality and similarity in facilities are identified, and plans for exploiting this in order to reduce implementation costs and allow efficient transfer of experiments from one facility to another are presented

The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Strike: A Retrospective Analysis

The purpose of this study was to assess the opinions, beliefs, and perspectives of former air traffic controllers who were terminated from employment with the Federal Aviation Administration for participating in the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike of 1981. The study examines the perceptions of the former controllers to determine their feelings toward the justification for going on strike over 13 years ago. This is relevant in light of recent events including the lifting of the ban against rehiring PATCO controllers by the Clinton Administration. The data collected for this study were obtained with an opinionnaire mailed via a newsletter to former controllers who were members of the PATCO union. It was expected that a majority of the controllers would feel their actions of 1981 were justified. This feeling, however, would be mitigated by the fact that the controllers were terminated for their actions and sacrificed their careers with the decision to strike

Діяльність авіадиспетчерів в умовах підвищеної виробничої завантаженості

Робота публікується згідно наказу ректора від 21.01.2020 р. №008/од "Про перевірку кваліфікаційних робіт на академічний плагіат 2019-2020р.р. навчальному році ". Керівник проекту: доц. Аргунов Геннадій ФедоровичEvery person who for the first time somehow finds himself in the hall where air traffic controllers work, has the impression of a very calm atmosphere. But it is deceptive. Outside this calm hides a huge internal tension. The tension of responsibility that each of the employees in the control room bears personally and cannot be transferred to someone else. And the point here is neither in clearly described procedures and rules, nor in the desire to prove that they can cope with the situation, but in the unusual nature of these people. Each of them throughout the nervous system feels that the dots that glow on the indicator are hundreds of human hearts, which they have no right to stop because of, sometimes, nonsensical errors. Therefore, no matter how difficult the situation, no matter how strong the tension, the most important task of the dispatcher is the obligation to remember, On average, about 3,000 people die each year in plane crashes worldwide. In comparison with these data we will give the same statistics of road accidents, and we will see that the indicator of victi is much bigger. This type of transport takes more than 30,000 lives, and only in Ukraine. That is, according to statistics, civil aviation is the safest mode of aero port. However, gradually the intensity of air traffic increases, the number of airlines and, accordingly, the transportation of both passengers and cargo. According to Eurocontrol statistics for the next 3 years in the European region is projected to increase air traffic by an average of 3.7% annually. Despite the introduction of the concept of flexible use of airspace, the activities of air traffic controllers are becoming more complex every year. They have to work in conditions of constant increased workload and stress. It is known that at relatively low levels of functional stress, performance is restored fairly quickly, and no harmful effects on the human body do not occur. However, in cases where the functional stress reaches levels at which the restoration of the spent functional potential during the work shift is impossible, conditions are created to reduce the efficiency of the employee. Usually short-term rest and change of activity promote restoration of the spent resources of an organism.Національний авіаційний університе

Analyse de dynamiques temporelles, spatiales et fluctuantes des activités de contrôleurs aériens

The automation systems have been prompting the improvement of capability of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. However, there remains substantial debate over the role of air traffic controller (ATCO), in particular, controller's activities that are closely related to the operation safety in both current ATM system and future ATM system. As a matter of fact, researchers and operational experts have long been sought the way to measure and predict controllers’ activities. With a few exception, most of existing works are incapable of predicting controllers’ activities correctly. The difficulty roots in the inadequate knowledge of the dynamics of air traffic controllers. In the context of transforming of the ATM system, there is a need for a generalized description on air traffic controllers’ activities. Recent human dynamics research has unmasked astonishing statistical characteristics in human activities which indicate there might exist a universal law that governs human activities. Building upon the previous research on controllers, this thesis analyzes air traffic controllers’ dynamics from human dynamics perspective using a complex system approachL’industrie du transport aérien offre un service de transport pour le grand public dans le but de permettre le commerce, les affaires et les voyages d'agrément. Pour fournir un transport aérien sûr et précis, la gestion du trafic aérien (ATM, Air Traffic Management) tend à une gestion dynamique et intégrée de la sécurité de l’espace aérien grâce à la fourniture d'équipements et de services sans couture (seamless) en collaboration avec toutes les parties (ICAO 2005). En tant qu’élément clé de l'ATM, le contrôleur du trafic aérien est étroitement lié à la sécurité et à l'efficacité du système. Depuis 1960 (Davis, Danaher et al. 1963), il y a des efforts en cours pour étudier les facteurs humains dans le système ATM, ce qui contribue à notre compréhension des activités de contrôleurs aériens. Cette thèse portera sur l'analyse empirique de la dynamique des contrôleurs aériens d'un point de vue « système complexe » en explorant les caractéristiques temporelles et spatiales de leurs activités de communication ainsi que leurs fluctuation