National plan to enhance aviation safety through human factors improvements

The purpose of this section of the plan is to establish a development and implementation strategy plan for improving safety and efficiency in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. These improvements will be achieved through the proper applications of human factors considerations to the present and future systems. The program will have four basic goals: (1) prepare for the future system through proper hiring and training; (2) develop a controller work station team concept (managing human errors); (3) understand and address the human factors implications of negative system results; and (4) define the proper division of responsibilities and interactions between the human and the machine in ATC systems. This plan addresses six program elements which together address the overall purpose. The six program elements are: (1) determine principles of human-centered automation that will enhance aviation safety and the efficiency of the air traffic controller; (2) provide new and/or enhanced methods and techniques to measure, assess, and improve human performance in the ATC environment; (3) determine system needs and methods for information transfer between and within controller teams and between controller teams and the cockpit; (4) determine how new controller work station technology can optimally be applied and integrated to enhance safety and efficiency; (5) assess training needs and develop improved techniques and strategies for selection, training, and evaluation of controllers; and (6) develop standards, methods, and procedures for the certification and validation of human engineering in the design, testing, and implementation of any hardware or software system element which affects information flow to or from the human

Experimental Evaluation Of Portable Electronic Flight Progress Strips

Air traffic service providers are increasingly embracing electronic alternatives to the traditional paper Flight Progress Strip (FPS). However, most development of such electronic systems, and of Decision Support Tools (DSTs) in general, has centered on radar-based en route or terminal-area facilities, rather than the airport air traffic control tower. Based on an analysis of the unique human factors requirements of the control tower environment, a prototype Portable Electronic FPS has been designed that also serves as an interface to a DST for departure operations. The Portable Electronic FPS has been implemented using a system of networked, handheld computers as prototype hardware. A study has been conducted to evaluate the usability of the Portable Electronic FPS. The study consisted of a human-in-the-loop experiment that simulated the tasks an air traffic controller performs at a major airport. Three issues were explored: the importance of FPS portability, the appropriateness of departure sequence DST advisories distributed onto each Portable Electronic FPS, and the advantages of interaction mechanisms enabled by an electronic interface. Test subjects used multiple versions of the Portable Electronic FPS as well as a current-day paper FPS. Quantitative measures of departure sequencing efficiency and traffic monitoring ability were recorded for each test subject, as well as subjective FPS preference rankings. This paper reviews the final design and prototype implementation of the Portable Electronic FPS, presents the design and results of the usability study, and suggests future research that should be pursued in order to create an operationally deployable Portable Electronic FPS system

The impact of alerting design on air traffic controllers' response to conflict detection and resolution

Purposes: The research aim is to develop a better design of auditory alerts that can improve air traffic controllers’ situation awareness. Method: Participants are seventy-seven qualified Air Traffic Controllers. The experiment was conducted in the Air Traffic Control operational rooms of the Irish Aviation Authority at Shannon and Dublin. Participants were advised that the trials were in relation to the COOPANS Air Traffic Control. ANOVA with two between-subject factors (alerting designs and experience levels) were conducted to analyze the ATCO’s response time for three critical events. Bonferroni test was performed for post-hoc analysis on mean differences of response time. Results: There is a significant difference in ATCO’s response time between acoustic alert and semantic alert across STCA, APW and MSAW. No significant main effect of controllers’ experience on ATCO’s response time for STCA and APW. Also, there is no significant interaction between alerting design and experience level on ATCO’s response time across STCA, APW and MSAW. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the acoustic alert deployed within the COOPANS ATM system provides level-1 Situational Awareness to ATCO’s compared with an semantic alert which provides not only level-1 of situational awareness for perceived alerts, but also level-2 and level-3 of situational awareness to assist ATCO understanding of critical events and therefore develop more suitable solutions. Consequently, human-centered design of a semantic alert can significantly speed up ATCO’s response to STCA, and APW. Furthermore, the sematic alert could alleviate expertise differences by promoting quicker response times for both novice and experienced air traffic controllers

Cognitive consequences of clumsy automation on high workload, high consequence human performance

The growth of computational power has fueled attempts to automate more of the human role in complex problem solving domains, especially those where system faults have high consequences and where periods of high workload may saturate the performance capacity of human operators. Examples of these domains include flightdecks, space stations, air traffic control, nuclear power operation, ground satellite control rooms, and surgical operating rooms. Automation efforts may have unanticipated effects on human performance, particularly if they increase the workload at peak workload times or change the practitioners' strategies for coping with workload. Smooth and effective changes in automation requires detailed understanding of the congnitive tasks confronting the user: it has been called user centered automation. The introduction of a new computerized technology in a group of hospital operating rooms used for heart surgery was observed. The study revealed how automation, especially 'clumsy automation', effects practitioner work patterns and suggest that clumsy automation constrains users in specific and significant ways. Users tailor both the new system and their tasks in order to accommodate the needs of process and production. The study of this tailoring may prove a powerful tool for exposing previously hidden patterns of user data processing, integration, and decision making which may, in turn, be useful in the design of more effective human-machine systems

Preliminary Design and Evaluation of Portable Electronic Flight Progress Strips

There has been growing interest in using electronic alternatives to the paper Flight Progress Strip (FPS) for air traffic control. However, most research has been centered on radar-based control environments, and has not considered the unique operational needs of the airport air traffic control tower. Based on an analysis of the human factors issues for control tower Decision Support Tool (DST) interfaces, a requirement has been identified for an interaction mechanism which replicates the advantages of the paper FPS (e.g., head-up operation, portability) but also enables input and output with DSTs. An approach has been developed which uses a Portable Electronic FPS that has attributes of both a paper strip and an electronic strip. The prototype flight strip system uses Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to replace individual paper strips in addition to a central management interface which is displayed on a desktop computer. Each PDA is connected to the management interface via a wireless local area network. The Portable Electronic FPSs replicate the core functionality of paper flight strips and have additional features which provide a heads-up interface to a DST. A departure DST is used as a motivating example. The central management interface is used for aircraft scheduling and sequencing and provides an overview of airport departure operations. This paper will present the design of the Portable Electronic FPS system as well as preliminary evaluation results.This research is supported by NASA grant NCC 2-1147

Design And Evaluation Of A Portable Electronic Flight Progress Strip System

There has been growing interest in using electronic alternatives to the paper Flight Progress Strip (FPS) for air traffic control. However, most research has been centered on radar-based control environments, and has not considered the unique operational needs of the airport air traffic control tower. Based on an analysis of the human factors issues for control tower Decision Support Tool (DST) interfaces, a requirement has been identified for an interaction mechanism which replicates the advantages of the paper FPS (e.g., minimal head-down time, portability) but also enables input and output with DSTs. An approach has been developed which uses a Portable Electronic FPS that has attributes of both a paper flight strip and an electronic flight strip. The prototype Portable Electronic Flight Progress Strip system uses handheld computers to replace individual paper strips in addition to a central management interface which is displayed on a desktop computer. Each electronic FPS is connected to the management interface via a wireless local area network. The Portable Electronic FPSs replicate the core functionality of paper flight strips and have additional features which provide an interface to a DST. A departure DST is used as a motivating example. This report presents the rationale for a Portable Electronic FPS system and discusses the formatting and functionalities of the prototype displays. A usability study has been conducted to determine the utility of the Portable Electronic FPS in comparison to paper flight strips. This study consisted of a human-in-the-loop experiment which simulated the tasks of an air traffic controller in an airport control tower environment. Specific issues explored during the experiment include the appropriateness of displaying departure advisories on the Portable Electronic FPS, the importance of FPS portability, and the advantages of interaction mechanisms enabled by an electronic interface. Experimental results are presented which show that test subjects preferred the Portable Electronic FPS to a paper FPS. However, results for performance-based measures were partially confounded by a dominance of practice effects, experimental limitations, and characteristics of the prototype hardware itself. The implications of the experimental results are discussed with the aim of directing further research toward the goal of creating an operationally-deployable Portable Electronic FPS system. Future research should explore emergent display technologies which better emulate the physical characteristics of the paper FPS. Once this is accomplished, higher-fidelity performance-based analyses may be conducted, engaging air traffic controllers on design and implementation issues.This research was supported by NASA grant NCC 2-1147

Trajectory Based Operations and the Legacy Flight Deck: Envisioning Design Enhancements for the Flight Crew

DTFAWA-10-A-80031This study addresses the gap in scientific information at the intersection of Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO), realistic flight deck \u2013 pilot tasking environments, and human performance assessment. The study explored pilot performance, pain points, and system improvements in a human-in-the-loop heuristic evaluation of prototype displays for selected Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) TBO scenarios. Legacy flight deck systems represent the baseline for innovation of TBO concepts. Because \u201cclean sheet\u201d design of both the NAS and the flight deck is seldom possible, designing human-centered \u201cNowGen\u201d interventions for existing systems is a prudent way to evolve toward NextGen. Study Approach: Three legacy and current generation interfaces were adapted using human-centered design heuristics to support Four-dimensional (4D) RTA-TBO, including a Multifunction Control Display Unit (MCDU), an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), and an integrated Graphical Flight Planning (GFP) system. Seven airline, corporate, and technical pilots evaluated the interfaces in scenarios using different flight phases, weather, and NAS/Air Traffic Control (ATC) conditions. We obtained feedback from pilots on how well the prototyped interfaces supported pilot decision making, how easy they were to learn, their effect on self-reported workload, and the way in which the information was presented. Results: Evaluation participants responded favorably to the MCDU and integrated GFP RTA-prototypes, while the EFB prototype received less favorable feedback. However, the data collected in this study must be considered preliminary, until we have completed more rigorous human factors evaluation and objective pilot performance measurements. The report concludes with our recommendations for further work to develop and refine recommendations for TBO flight deck design requirements and guidance, including refinement and evaluation of EFB design that could support legacy aircraft participation in TBO

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

Empirical exploration of air traffic and human dynamics in terminal airspaces

Air traffic is widely known as a complex, task-critical techno-social system, with numerous interactions between airspace, procedures, aircraft and air traffic controllers. In order to develop and deploy high-level operational concepts and automation systems scientifically and effectively, it is essential to conduct an in-depth investigation on the intrinsic traffic-human dynamics and characteristics, which is not widely seen in the literature. To fill this gap, we propose a multi-layer network to model and analyze air traffic systems. A Route-based Airspace Network (RAN) and Flight Trajectory Network (FTN) encapsulate critical physical and operational characteristics; an Integrated Flow-Driven Network (IFDN) and Interrelated Conflict-Communication Network (ICCN) are formulated to represent air traffic flow transmissions and intervention from air traffic controllers, respectively. Furthermore, a set of analytical metrics including network variables, complex network attributes, controllers' cognitive complexity, and chaotic metrics are introduced and applied in a case study of Guangzhou terminal airspace. Empirical results show the existence of fundamental diagram and macroscopic fundamental diagram at the route, sector and terminal levels. Moreover, the dynamics and underlying mechanisms of "ATCOs-flow" interactions are revealed and interpreted by adaptive meta-cognition strategies based on network analysis of the ICCN. Finally, at the system level, chaos is identified in conflict system and human behavioral system when traffic switch to the semi-stable or congested phase. This study offers analytical tools for understanding the complex human-flow interactions at potentially a broad range of air traffic systems, and underpins future developments and automation of intelligent air traffic management systems.Comment: 30 pages, 28 figures, currently under revie

Conference Control System Computer-Human Interface Prototype Description and Design

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) is responsible for the strategic aspects of the National Airspace System (NAS). The ATCSCC modifies traffic flow and rates when congestion, weather, equipment outages, runway closures, or other operational conditions affect the NAS. Controllers at the ATCSCC accomplish these tasks by communicating with NAS stakeholders like local FAA facilities, airlines, and other national civil aviation authorities. In 2004, the FAA deployed the Conference Control System (CCS) as part of infrastructure modernization to meet increased capacity demands. The CCS provides many new functions and a computer-human interface (CHI) based on touch-entry display (TED) technology. The NAS Human Factors Group conducted a user-centered design project to explore the CCS CHI requirements. In collaboration with the CCS User Team, we developed mouse- and TED-based CHI prototypes to demonstrate the potential CCS functionality. This report discusses the approach we took in designing the CCS prototype and the rationale for each of the important CHI elements. Many of the concepts developed in the prototype were implemented into the operational CCS. The report also discusses the role of iterative prototyping in increasing designers\u2019 and users\u2019 understanding of the tasks, requirements, and CHI development process. Future programs can use the design rationale to guide the creation of CHIs for new telecommunication systems. We believe that the design approach adopted in this project allowed for a better elicitation of the user requirements and helped educate the user team regarding human factors and usability issues