Experimental evaluation of a joint cognitive system for 4D trajectory management

Abstract

Effective joint human-automation coordination is essential in order to support the central role of the human operator in foreseen future trajectory-based air traffic operations. The SESAR WP-E project C-SHARE aims to achieve this by taking a Cognitive Systems Engineering approach, based upon accomplishing joint human and automation cognition through a shared representation of 4D-trajectory management. In foregoing research, a work domain model and a joint human-machine interface has been developed to support the human operator in the task of en-route 4D trajectory re-planning. This paper presents the findings of two experiments that aimed to determine the effect of both the initial level of traffic orderliness (i.e., structured versus unstructured traffic) and the scale of perturbations acting upon the airspace (e.g., number of conflicts and restricted areas) on the overall effectiveness of such a system. The findings of the experimental evaluation show that the C-SHARE approach to joint human-automation coordination in perturbation management is promising. Further, the experiment subjects accepted the tool and found it supportive for the task at hand, resulting in a manageable degree of workload during all experiment scenarios