Automation and Cognition in Air Traffic Control: An Empirical Investigation

Details

• Creators:
  Vortac, O.U. ; Edwards, Mark B. ; Fuller, Dana K. ; Manning, Carol A.
• Corporate Creators:
  Civil Aeromedical Institute ; University of Oklahoma. Dept. of Psychology
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Office of Aviation Medicine
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Air traffic control
  • Automation
  • Performance
  • Memory
  • Workload
  • Psychological aspects
  • Attention
  • Experiments
  • Human subject testing
  • Air traffic control--Automation--Psychological aspects
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/AM-94/3
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Abstract:
  Several investigators have expressed concern that the imminent automation of air traffic control may have negative consequences on cognitive functioning, and ultimately on performance. We investigated these possibilities empirically by comparing normal, conventional air traffic control with an experimental condition designed to resemble an extreme version of automation. Overall, measures of performance were comparable between conditions. Most of the cognitive measures (attentional demands, visual search, recall of flights, recall of flight data) were not impaired by the automation analog. Instead, two prospective measures (prospective memory, planning) showed improved performance. ; The prospective memory advantage is particularly surprising given that the automation analog group was unable to manipulate external memory aids. Possible reasons for the prospective memory advantage include a reduced workload which allows the controller to get the necessary information in other ways, and a change in the nature of the task resulting from the "automation" of the strip management module.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/21396/dot_21396_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 964.75 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection ; FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:31540729e09425f80ad13629bf58f9ce7207ae7c92b26d4d9177c435148249d229a5dd4e837b9148c3e777b1ec83aa86612829921ee89cd673f33e3a18ed81fd