In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed... more In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed standard terminal arrival routes (STARs) are impacted by storms. To circumvent this operational constraint, proposed to use automation to dynamically adapt arrival and departure routing based on weather predictions. The present study examined this proposal in the context of a NextGen trajectory-based operation concept, focusing on the acceptability of this proposal to both pilots and controllers, as well as its effect on the controllers' ability to manage traffic flows.
Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace opera... more Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace operations, i.e., temporal as well as spatial separation of arrival and departure flows [1][2]. Temporal separation would permit a departure aircraft to fly through an arrival flow, depending on an available gap. This would necessitate careful and precise coordination between controllers in different sectors.
Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concepts demand that both predicted and obser... more Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concepts demand that both predicted and observed weather data are assimilated into air traffic management decision making. Consequently, research that evaluates concepts concerning weather decision making in NextGen requires the use of these weather data in the simulation environments. Current sources of real-world 3D convective weather data are often sparse, leave large coverage gaps, and are not constructed to meet specific research and concept evaluation requirements. As a result, there is a strong need for a simple and versatile tool that can be used for generating tailored, yet realistic weather for simulation-based research. StormGen, the software tool showcased in this paper, has been designed to produce convective weather systems for use in NextGen airspace simulations. StormGen provides a graphical user interface for the construction and placement of storm cells anywhere in a simulated contiguous United States airspace. StormGen functions support morphing of storm cells between different sizes, shapes, altitudes, positions, and intensities over time. The produced weather objects can be exported in multiple formats for use by other simulation components, such as the Multi Aircraft Control System (MACS), the Cockpit Situation Display (CSD), and out-the-window flight simulator views. MACS is an emulation and simulation program which provides a small to large scale airspace environment, and air traffic controller (ATC) display, for current and future air traffic operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). CSD is a 2D and 3D volumetric multifunction interface designed to provide flight decks with a 4D depiction of the interrelationships between surrounding traffic, weather, and terrain within the proximate airspace. Both MACS and CSD are able to utilize the dynamically updated weather delivered by StormGen to display 2D weather information, while CSD is also able to display the 3D weather objects created by StormGen, either in 3D perspective views, or by simulating the 2D scans returned by a simulated airborne radar application. The resolution at which the dynamic weather is updated can be determined by the StormGen software, or the simulation environments displaying the weather information. Thus, it can support six-minute display updates similar to Nexrad, or the virtually continuous display updates found with airborne radars. Finally, depending on the scope and purpose of the simulation environment, the exported weather objects can be used to integrate and simulate the display of predicted (forecast) weather information. This capability is important for the development and evaluation of technologies proposed to utilize such predicted information. There are multiple proposed and planned improvements to StormGen, which would improve the realism of generated weather objects. For example, StormGen presently has a simplistic wind capability that is reflected in the temporal movement of storm cells. Ideally, the editor would support the creation and exporting of wind fields. It would also be advantageous to use publicly available images from ground-based weather radar for the creation of storm systems in StormGen. We envision StormGen to be a continually evolving tool for generating convective weather systems for simulation research in NextGen environments.
2014 IEEE/AIAA 33rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), 2014
In 2013, Chevalley, et al., presented a concept of shared airspace where departures fly across ar... more In 2013, Chevalley, et al., presented a concept of shared airspace where departures fly across arrival flows, provided gaps are available in these flows. They explored solutions for separating departures temporally from arrival traffic. Arrival controllers were responsible for deciding whether to climb departures through gaps, based on the departure aircrafts' trajectory and on the estimated flying time across the arrival flow. It was found that aircraft climb efficiency increased with more accurate departure time from the runway. Although in this earlier simulation, workload, coordination, and safety were judged by controllers as acceptable, it appeared that controllers would need improved tools to support this procedure.
Effect of ATC Training with NextGen Tools and Online Situation Awareness and Workload Probes on Operator Performance
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011
The purpose of the present study was to examine (a) how controller performance changes with the i... more The purpose of the present study was to examine (a) how controller performance changes with the introduction of NextGen tools and (b) how much training is needed for controllers to achieve a performance criterion after the tools have been introduced. Seven retired controllers were trained on an enroute sector in three phases: voice, Data Comm, and online probe. The voice
2014 IEEE/AIAA 33rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), 2014
In current-day Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) operations, departure and arrival control... more In current-day Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) operations, departure and arrival controllers maintain separate and dedicated airspace for their respective traffic flows. Although this practice has obvious safety features, it also leads to inefficiencies; for example, departure aircraft may be routinely capped beneath arrival airspace. With the right decision-support and coordination tools, departures could continue to climb through arrival airspace when sufficient gaps exist. Previous studies of 'shared airspace' have examined pre-arranged coordination procedures, as well as tools that gave feedback to the controllers on where gaps between arrivals were located and whether the departure aircraft could be scheduled to fly through those gaps . Since then, the Route Crossing Tool (RCT) has been developed to allow controllers to assess multiple pre-defined route options at points where the arrivals and departures cross, thereby increasing the possibility of climbing a departure through an arrival gap.
In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed... more In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed standard terminal arrival routes (STARs) are impacted by storms. To circumvent this operational constraint, proposed to use automation to dynamically adapt arrival and departure routing based on weather predictions. The present study examined this proposal in the context of a NextGen trajectory-based operation concept, focusing on the acceptability of this proposal to both pilots and controllers, as well as its effect on the controllers' ability to manage traffic flows.
2014 IEEE/AIAA 33rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), 2014
Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace opera... more Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace operations, i.e., temporal as well as spatial separation of arrival and departure flows [1][2]. Temporal separation would permit a departure aircraft to fly through an arrival flow, depending on an available gap. This would necessitate careful and precise coordination between controllers in different sectors.
A human-in-the-loop simulation was conducted to examine performance, workload, and situation awar... more A human-in-the-loop simulation was conducted to examine performance, workload, and situation awareness of students and retired air traffic controllers using an on-line situation awareness probe technique. Performance of the students did not differ from the controllers on many of the performance variables examined, a finding attributed to extensive sector-specific simulation training provided to the students. Both students and controllers indicated that workload was higher and situation awareness was lower in scenarios where the traffic density was high. However, the subjective workload and situation awareness scores indicate that students were more negatively affected by traffic density. Implications of these findings are discussed.
AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference, 2015
This paper describes the background, method and results of the Arrival Metering Precision Study (... more This paper describes the background, method and results of the Arrival Metering Precision Study (AMPS) conducted in the Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center in May 2014. The simulation study measured delivery accuracy, flight efficiency, controller workload, and acceptability of time-based metering operations to a meter fix at the terminal area boundary for different resolution levels of metering delay times displayed to the air traffic controllers and different levels of airspeed information made available to the Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) system computing the delay.
This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts that varie... more This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts that varied traffic separation responsibility between the pilots, air-traffic controllers, and an automation system. In Concept 1, the flight deck was equipped with conflict resolution tools that enable them to perform the tasks of weather avoidance and self-separation from surrounding traffic. In Concept 2, air-traffic controllers were responsible for traffic separation, but pilots were provided tools for weather and traffic avoidance. In Concept 3, a ground based automation was used for conflict detection and resolution, and the flight deck tools allowed pilots to deviate for weather, but not detect conflicts. Results showed that pilot situation awareness was highest in Concept 1, where the pilots were most engaged, and lowest in Concept 3, where automation was heavily used. These findings suggest that pilot situation awareness on conflict resolution tasks can be improved by keeping them in the decision-making loop.
An online probe technique for measuring situation awareness and workload was evaluated for its ab... more An online probe technique for measuring situation awareness and workload was evaluated for its ability to detect changes in awareness and workload caused by changes in roles and responsibilities for traffic separation. Three plausible NextGen concepts of operation were evaluated: Pilot primary (pilots responsible for traffic separation), ATC primary (ATC responsible for most traffic separation) and Automation Primary (automated conflict detection and resolution agent responsible for most traffic separation). Pilots were queried about task relevant information throughout a ninety-minute scenario. Queries were categorized into conflict, command and communications, and status information. Situation awareness was measured in terms of response latency and accuracy to the queries. Response latency to conflict queries changed with concept of operation, suggesting that online queries for specific task-relevant information can determine changes in situation awareness for task-specific information.
This paper reports on workload and situation awareness of pilots and controllers participating in... more This paper reports on workload and situation awareness of pilots and controllers participating in a human-in-the-loop simulation using three different distributed air-ground traffic management concepts. Eight experimental pilots started the scenario in an en-route phase of flight and were asked to avoid convective weather while performing spacing and merging tasks along with a continuous descent approach (CDA) into Louisville Standiford Airport (SDF). Two controllers managed the sectors through which the pilots flew, with one managing a sector that included the Top of Descent, and the other managing a sector that included the merge point for arrival into SDF. At 3-minute intervals in the scenario, pilots and controllers were probed on their workload or situation awareness. We employed one of three concepts of operation that distributed separation responsibility across human controllers, pilots, and automation to measure changes in operator situation awareness and workload. We found that when pilots were responsible for separation, they had higher levels of awareness, but not necessarily higher levels of workload. When controllers are responsible and actively engaged, they showed higher workload levels compared to pilots and changes in awareness that were dependent on sector characteristics.
2013 Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference, 2013
THE IMPACT OF TRAJECTORY PREDICTION UNCERTAINTY ON RELIANCE STRATEGY AND TRUST ATTITUDE IN AN AUT... more THE IMPACT OF TRAJECTORY PREDICTION UNCERTAINTY ON RELIANCE STRATEGY AND TRUST ATTITUDE IN AN AUTOMATED AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT. by Sarah M. Hunt Future air traffic environments have the potential to exceed human operator capabilities. In response, air traffic control systems are being modernized to provide automated tools to overcome current-day workload limits. Highly accurate aircraft trajectory predictions are a critical element of the automated tools envisioned as part of the evolution of today's air traffic management system in the United States, known as NextGen. However, automation accuracy is limited due to the effects of external variables: "errors" such as wind forecast uncertainties. The focus of the Trajectory Prediction Uncertainty simulation at NASA Ames Research center were the effects of varied levels of accuracy on operator's tool use during a time based metering task. The simulation's environment also provided a means to examine the relationship between an operator's reliance strategy and underlying trust attitude. Operators were found to exhibit an underlying trust attitude distinct from their reliance strategies, supporting the strategic use of the Human-Automation trust scale in an air traffic control environment.. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A master's thesis is never completed in a vacuum, yet I have to give special thanks to all the people who contributed above and beyond to the formulation and development of my research and myself. I would like to acknowledge the support of the
In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed... more In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed standard terminal arrival routes (STARs) are impacted by storms. To circumvent this operational constraint, proposed to use automation to dynamically adapt arrival and departure routing based on weather predictions. The present study examined this proposal in the context of a NextGen trajectory-based operation concept, focusing on the acceptability of this proposal to both pilots and controllers, as well as its effect on the controllers' ability to manage traffic flows.
Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace opera... more Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace operations, i.e., temporal as well as spatial separation of arrival and departure flows [1][2]. Temporal separation would permit a departure aircraft to fly through an arrival flow, depending on an available gap. This would necessitate careful and precise coordination between controllers in different sectors.
Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concepts demand that both predicted and obser... more Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concepts demand that both predicted and observed weather data are assimilated into air traffic management decision making. Consequently, research that evaluates concepts concerning weather decision making in NextGen requires the use of these weather data in the simulation environments. Current sources of real-world 3D convective weather data are often sparse, leave large coverage gaps, and are not constructed to meet specific research and concept evaluation requirements. As a result, there is a strong need for a simple and versatile tool that can be used for generating tailored, yet realistic weather for simulation-based research. StormGen, the software tool showcased in this paper, has been designed to produce convective weather systems for use in NextGen airspace simulations. StormGen provides a graphical user interface for the construction and placement of storm cells anywhere in a simulated contiguous United States airspace. StormGen functions support morphing of storm cells between different sizes, shapes, altitudes, positions, and intensities over time. The produced weather objects can be exported in multiple formats for use by other simulation components, such as the Multi Aircraft Control System (MACS), the Cockpit Situation Display (CSD), and out-the-window flight simulator views. MACS is an emulation and simulation program which provides a small to large scale airspace environment, and air traffic controller (ATC) display, for current and future air traffic operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). CSD is a 2D and 3D volumetric multifunction interface designed to provide flight decks with a 4D depiction of the interrelationships between surrounding traffic, weather, and terrain within the proximate airspace. Both MACS and CSD are able to utilize the dynamically updated weather delivered by StormGen to display 2D weather information, while CSD is also able to display the 3D weather objects created by StormGen, either in 3D perspective views, or by simulating the 2D scans returned by a simulated airborne radar application. The resolution at which the dynamic weather is updated can be determined by the StormGen software, or the simulation environments displaying the weather information. Thus, it can support six-minute display updates similar to Nexrad, or the virtually continuous display updates found with airborne radars. Finally, depending on the scope and purpose of the simulation environment, the exported weather objects can be used to integrate and simulate the display of predicted (forecast) weather information. This capability is important for the development and evaluation of technologies proposed to utilize such predicted information. There are multiple proposed and planned improvements to StormGen, which would improve the realism of generated weather objects. For example, StormGen presently has a simplistic wind capability that is reflected in the temporal movement of storm cells. Ideally, the editor would support the creation and exporting of wind fields. It would also be advantageous to use publicly available images from ground-based weather radar for the creation of storm systems in StormGen. We envision StormGen to be a continually evolving tool for generating convective weather systems for simulation research in NextGen environments.
2014 IEEE/AIAA 33rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), 2014
In 2013, Chevalley, et al., presented a concept of shared airspace where departures fly across ar... more In 2013, Chevalley, et al., presented a concept of shared airspace where departures fly across arrival flows, provided gaps are available in these flows. They explored solutions for separating departures temporally from arrival traffic. Arrival controllers were responsible for deciding whether to climb departures through gaps, based on the departure aircrafts' trajectory and on the estimated flying time across the arrival flow. It was found that aircraft climb efficiency increased with more accurate departure time from the runway. Although in this earlier simulation, workload, coordination, and safety were judged by controllers as acceptable, it appeared that controllers would need improved tools to support this procedure.
Effect of ATC Training with NextGen Tools and Online Situation Awareness and Workload Probes on Operator Performance
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011
The purpose of the present study was to examine (a) how controller performance changes with the i... more The purpose of the present study was to examine (a) how controller performance changes with the introduction of NextGen tools and (b) how much training is needed for controllers to achieve a performance criterion after the tools have been introduced. Seven retired controllers were trained on an enroute sector in three phases: voice, Data Comm, and online probe. The voice
2014 IEEE/AIAA 33rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), 2014
In current-day Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) operations, departure and arrival control... more In current-day Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) operations, departure and arrival controllers maintain separate and dedicated airspace for their respective traffic flows. Although this practice has obvious safety features, it also leads to inefficiencies; for example, departure aircraft may be routinely capped beneath arrival airspace. With the right decision-support and coordination tools, departures could continue to climb through arrival airspace when sufficient gaps exist. Previous studies of 'shared airspace' have examined pre-arranged coordination procedures, as well as tools that gave feedback to the controllers on where gaps between arrivals were located and whether the departure aircraft could be scheduled to fly through those gaps . Since then, the Route Crossing Tool (RCT) has been developed to allow controllers to assess multiple pre-defined route options at points where the arrivals and departures cross, thereby increasing the possibility of climbing a departure through an arrival gap.
In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed... more In today's terminal operations, controller workload increases and throughput decreases when fixed standard terminal arrival routes (STARs) are impacted by storms. To circumvent this operational constraint, proposed to use automation to dynamically adapt arrival and departure routing based on weather predictions. The present study examined this proposal in the context of a NextGen trajectory-based operation concept, focusing on the acceptability of this proposal to both pilots and controllers, as well as its effect on the controllers' ability to manage traffic flows.
2014 IEEE/AIAA 33rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), 2014
Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace opera... more Recent studies have shown that a more efficient use of airspace may involve shared airspace operations, i.e., temporal as well as spatial separation of arrival and departure flows [1][2]. Temporal separation would permit a departure aircraft to fly through an arrival flow, depending on an available gap. This would necessitate careful and precise coordination between controllers in different sectors.
A human-in-the-loop simulation was conducted to examine performance, workload, and situation awar... more A human-in-the-loop simulation was conducted to examine performance, workload, and situation awareness of students and retired air traffic controllers using an on-line situation awareness probe technique. Performance of the students did not differ from the controllers on many of the performance variables examined, a finding attributed to extensive sector-specific simulation training provided to the students. Both students and controllers indicated that workload was higher and situation awareness was lower in scenarios where the traffic density was high. However, the subjective workload and situation awareness scores indicate that students were more negatively affected by traffic density. Implications of these findings are discussed.
AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference, 2015
This paper describes the background, method and results of the Arrival Metering Precision Study (... more This paper describes the background, method and results of the Arrival Metering Precision Study (AMPS) conducted in the Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center in May 2014. The simulation study measured delivery accuracy, flight efficiency, controller workload, and acceptability of time-based metering operations to a meter fix at the terminal area boundary for different resolution levels of metering delay times displayed to the air traffic controllers and different levels of airspeed information made available to the Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) system computing the delay.
This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts that varie... more This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts that varied traffic separation responsibility between the pilots, air-traffic controllers, and an automation system. In Concept 1, the flight deck was equipped with conflict resolution tools that enable them to perform the tasks of weather avoidance and self-separation from surrounding traffic. In Concept 2, air-traffic controllers were responsible for traffic separation, but pilots were provided tools for weather and traffic avoidance. In Concept 3, a ground based automation was used for conflict detection and resolution, and the flight deck tools allowed pilots to deviate for weather, but not detect conflicts. Results showed that pilot situation awareness was highest in Concept 1, where the pilots were most engaged, and lowest in Concept 3, where automation was heavily used. These findings suggest that pilot situation awareness on conflict resolution tasks can be improved by keeping them in the decision-making loop.
An online probe technique for measuring situation awareness and workload was evaluated for its ab... more An online probe technique for measuring situation awareness and workload was evaluated for its ability to detect changes in awareness and workload caused by changes in roles and responsibilities for traffic separation. Three plausible NextGen concepts of operation were evaluated: Pilot primary (pilots responsible for traffic separation), ATC primary (ATC responsible for most traffic separation) and Automation Primary (automated conflict detection and resolution agent responsible for most traffic separation). Pilots were queried about task relevant information throughout a ninety-minute scenario. Queries were categorized into conflict, command and communications, and status information. Situation awareness was measured in terms of response latency and accuracy to the queries. Response latency to conflict queries changed with concept of operation, suggesting that online queries for specific task-relevant information can determine changes in situation awareness for task-specific information.
This paper reports on workload and situation awareness of pilots and controllers participating in... more This paper reports on workload and situation awareness of pilots and controllers participating in a human-in-the-loop simulation using three different distributed air-ground traffic management concepts. Eight experimental pilots started the scenario in an en-route phase of flight and were asked to avoid convective weather while performing spacing and merging tasks along with a continuous descent approach (CDA) into Louisville Standiford Airport (SDF). Two controllers managed the sectors through which the pilots flew, with one managing a sector that included the Top of Descent, and the other managing a sector that included the merge point for arrival into SDF. At 3-minute intervals in the scenario, pilots and controllers were probed on their workload or situation awareness. We employed one of three concepts of operation that distributed separation responsibility across human controllers, pilots, and automation to measure changes in operator situation awareness and workload. We found that when pilots were responsible for separation, they had higher levels of awareness, but not necessarily higher levels of workload. When controllers are responsible and actively engaged, they showed higher workload levels compared to pilots and changes in awareness that were dependent on sector characteristics.
2013 Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference, 2013
THE IMPACT OF TRAJECTORY PREDICTION UNCERTAINTY ON RELIANCE STRATEGY AND TRUST ATTITUDE IN AN AUT... more THE IMPACT OF TRAJECTORY PREDICTION UNCERTAINTY ON RELIANCE STRATEGY AND TRUST ATTITUDE IN AN AUTOMATED AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT. by Sarah M. Hunt Future air traffic environments have the potential to exceed human operator capabilities. In response, air traffic control systems are being modernized to provide automated tools to overcome current-day workload limits. Highly accurate aircraft trajectory predictions are a critical element of the automated tools envisioned as part of the evolution of today's air traffic management system in the United States, known as NextGen. However, automation accuracy is limited due to the effects of external variables: "errors" such as wind forecast uncertainties. The focus of the Trajectory Prediction Uncertainty simulation at NASA Ames Research center were the effects of varied levels of accuracy on operator's tool use during a time based metering task. The simulation's environment also provided a means to examine the relationship between an operator's reliance strategy and underlying trust attitude. Operators were found to exhibit an underlying trust attitude distinct from their reliance strategies, supporting the strategic use of the Human-Automation trust scale in an air traffic control environment.. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A master's thesis is never completed in a vacuum, yet I have to give special thanks to all the people who contributed above and beyond to the formulation and development of my research and myself. I would like to acknowledge the support of the
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