Decision support automation research in the en route air traffic control environment

Details

• Creators:
  Willems, Ben ; Heiney, Michelle
• Corporate Creators:
  William J. Hughes Technical Center (U.S.)
• Corporate Contributors:
  Northrop Grumman Corporation. Information Systems Sector ; United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of the Chief Scientist for Human Factors
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Air traffic control
  • Decision support systems
  • Human factors
  • Air traffic control
  • Air traffic controllers
  • Aeronautics
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/CT-TN02/10
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  New Jersey
• Edition:
  Technical note
• Corporate Publisher:
  William J. Hughes Technical Center (U.S.)
• Abstract:
  This study examined the effect of automated decision support on Certified Professional Controller (CPC) behavior. ; Sixteen CPCs from Air Route Traffic Control Centers participated in human-in-the-loop simulations. CPCs controlled ; two levels of traffic, supported by either paper flight strips, electronic flight strips with conflict indication, or conflict ; probe and trial planning automation. Each CPC worked as either a radar or a data controller. The controller station ; included a display system replacement console and a prototype decision support tool (DST). The station consisted of ; operational hardware and software connected to an operational Host Computer System (HCS). The HCS received ; simulated radar from the William J. Hughes Technical Center Target Generation Facility. We assessed CPC behavior by ; using instruments that assessed situation awareness (SA), workload, visual scanning, trust, and performance. An increase ; in traffic or automation or working as a data controller lowered SA. An increase in traffic or automation or working as a ; radar controller increased workload. An increase in automation shifted the focus of the data controller from the radar ; display to the DST, whereas, an increase in traffic shifted the focus more to the radar display. With an increase in traffic ; or a decrease in automation, the trust in automation decreased. If subject matter experts indicated a difference between ; conditions, it involved better CPC performance under lower traffic and more automated conditions. The results have ; implications for controller training, distribution of responsibilities within controller teams, and air traffic control humancomputer ; interface design.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/16689/dot_16689_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.40 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:38b31e7d67e2e99ce751e8e75514be3507bf7c229a342b8b8bd38e165b357a88