Generic Airspace Concepts and Research

The purpose of this study was to evaluate methods for reducing the training and memorization required to manage air traffic in mid-term, Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) airspace. We contrasted the performance of controllers using a sector information display and NextGen automation tools while working with familiar and unfamiliar sectors. The airspace included five sectors from Oakland and Salt Lake City Centers configured as a "generic center" called "West High Center." The Controller Information Tool was used to present essential information for managing these sectors. The Multi Aircraft Control System air traffic control simulator provided data link and conflict detection and resolution. There were five experienced air traffic controller participants. Each was familiar with one or two of the five sectors, but not the others. The participants rotated through all five sectors during the ten data collection runs. The results addressing workload, traffic management, and safety, as well as controller and observer comments, supported the generic sector concept. The unfamiliar sectors were comparable to the familiar sectors on all relevant measures

Flight Awareness Collaboration Tool

FACT is a software program that provides important information about winter weather operations to airline dispatchers and airport personnel. FACT has a "quad" design and shows various maps, text, and tabular information. It also has a team messaging capability. It is meant to be used by airline dispatchers and airport personnel to manage winter storms. This slide set provides a description of FACT that will be released to airline and airport partners who are helping to evaluate FACT. It was most recently presented at a Southwest Airlines meeting at NASA Ames on April 3, 2018

Flight Awareness Collaboration Tool

FACT is a software program that provides important information about winter weather operations to airline dispatchers and airport personnel. FACT has a "quad" design and shows various maps, text, and tabular information. It also has a team messaging capability. It is meant to be used by airline dispatchers and airport personnel to manage winter storms. This slide set provides a description of FACT that will be released to airline and airport partners who are helping to evaluate FACT. It was most recently presented at a Southwest Airlines meeting at NASA Ames on April 3, 2018

NextGen Automation: Changing the Knowledge Base

This slide presentation reviews the research on generic airspace and the human factors implications that this concept has for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)

Flight Awareness Collaboration Tool (FACT) User Manual

The Flight Awareness Collaboration Tool (FACT) is a web-based software tool that provides important information about winter weather operations to airline dispatchers and airport personnel. This document provides instructions on how to operate FACT. It reviews FACT goals, features, functions, controls, and data displays. The manual uses text and screen shots of the screens to guide new users on how to access FACT features. This manual is required for FACT distribution to airlines and airports and is needed as part of the NASA patent process

NASA Research to Support the Airlines

This presentation is an update on continued research and partnerships with airline and industry partners. In this presentation, several recent research efforts are discussed and illustrations are provided to bring greater awareness to the commercial aviation industry. By discussing projects like the Flight Awareness Collaboration Tool and dispatcher human factors studies, we can solicit additional feedback and participation

Generic Airspace Survey

This paper reports on an extension of generic airspace research to explore the amount of memorization and specialized skills required to manage sectors with specific characteristics or factors. Fifty-five retired controllers were given an electronic survey where they rated the amount of memorization or specialized skills needed for sixteen generic airspace factors. The results suggested similarities in the pattern of ratings between different areas of the US (East, Central, and West). The average of the ratings for each area also showed some differences between regions, with ratings being generally higher in the East area. All sixteen factors were rated as moderately to highly important and may be useful for future research on generic airspace, air traffic controller workload, etc

Generic Airspace Research Phase 5 Report

Human-in-the-loop testing was completed to assess the subjective preferences, usage, and operational benefits of Integrated and Separated Controller Information Tools (CITs) in support of Generic Airspace Research. Participants controlled traffic in in a busy, high altitude sector with the aid of the CITs. When the participants were asked which CIT that they preferred to use, they overwhelmingly chose the integrated version of the CIT. The primary reason for this seemed to be that it allowed participants to remain focused on the traffic situation, whereas the Standalone CIT required them to focus their attention for short periods away from the radar presentation. In contrast to their preference, there were little or no differences in the CIT usage and the operational differences. There were similar numbers of losses of separation and participants accessed each CIT equally. Although the information accessed was the similar for the two conditions, participants actively turned off the data on the Integrated CIT, presumably to reduce the clutter on the radar scope. Further work is needed to isolate which information can and should be available to controllers in the Integrated vs. Standalone format

NASA's Single-Pilot Operations Technical Interchange Meeting: Proceedings and Findings

Researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center are jointly investigating issues associated with potential concepts, or configurations, in which a single pilot might operate under conditions that are currently reserved for a minimum of two pilots. As part of early efforts, NASA Ames Research Center hosted a technical interchange meeting in order to gain insight from members of the aviation community regarding single-pilot operations (SPO). The meeting was held on April 10-12, 2012 at NASA Ames Research Center. Professionals in the aviation domain were invited because their areas of expertise were deemed to be directly related to an exploration of SPO. NASA, in selecting prospective participants, attempted to represent various relevant sectors within the aviation domain. Approximately 70 people representing government, academia, and industry attended. A primary focus of this gathering was to consider how tasks and responsibilities might be re-allocated to allow for SPO

ARTS IIIA Terminal Baseline Research Report

This report provides baseline measurements on the Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS) IIIA. Researchers developed a set of measurements useful for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of terminal air traffic control automation systems. These measurements followed six high-level operational constructs: Safety, Capacity, Performance, Workload, Usability, and Simulation Fidelity. To collect these measurements for the ARTS IIIA, we conducted an air traffic control simulation using four sectors of Boston Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) airspace with a traffic volume representing a 90th percentile day. Twelve controllers from Boston TRACON served as participants in the 3-week study. Recordings from the Target Generation Facility and Continuous Data Recording (CDR) systems provided objective data for measures such as the average number of aircraft controlled and the average number of data entries. Questionnaires and expert observer rating forms provided subjective data for measures such as the average controller workload and controller performance. This report provides statistics at several levels of specificity: aggregated across all sectors and runway configurations, by individual sector and runway configuration, and by 15-min intervals. Data from the study are intended to provide a meaningful representation of the TRACON controller position. We provide guidance on using these baseline measurements to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of future terminal automation systems. This guidance includes recommendations for merging quantitative statistics with controller opinion. We also include recommendations regarding the appropriate and inappropriate use of these data