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
