Data Communications Federal Aviation

Administration
Integration in En Route
Air Traffic Control
Human Factors Implications

Presented to: Aerospace Medical Association

By: Ben Willems
Date: May 7, 2009
Overview

• Human Factors Team Atlantic City

• National Airspace System Enterprise Architecture
• En Route Data Communications
Experimental Human Factors Evaluation

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Human Factors Team-Atlantic City

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 Human Factors Team-Atlantic City
 Human Factors Team – designs and
conducts human factors laboratory and field
projects
• 12 Federal Engineering Research Psychologists
• 1 Supervisory Air Traffic Controller (1-year detail)
• 1 Computer Scientist
• 15 Contract Psychologists, Subject Matter Experts,
and Lab Support

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Human Factors- relating humans to
technology
• Applying what is known about human capabilities
and limitations to products, processes, systems, and
work environments
• Improve:
– safety, efficiency, effectiveness, system performance, reliability,
ease of use, and user satisfaction,
• Reduce:
– errors, operator stress, training requirements, workload, user
fatigue, and product liability
• Provides the data for data-driven decision making

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 Human Factors Methods
 Cognitive Walkthroughs
 Usability Assessments of Existing Systems
 Human-Computer Interface Design & Evaluation
 Rapid Prototyping
 Workstation and Work Space Design
 Human-in-the-Loop Simulations
 In the Laboratory and Distributed
 Field Observations & Operational Evaluations
 Lab and Field Surveys
 Heuristic Evaluations

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 Simulation Measures

 Efficiency Measures
 Safety Measures
 Controller Actions
 Visual Scanning
 Situation Awareness
 Workload Ratings
 Questionnaires
 Observer Ratings
 Audio-Video
Recordings

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 NextGen research support
 Operations Concept Human Factors
 Focuses on integration/harmonization of concepts
• ATC & Tech Ops Concept Studies and Simulations
• ATC & Tech Ops Metrics Development
• Guidelines and Standards Development

 System Development Human Factors

 Focuses on specific system or concept (e.g. DataComm)
• Evaluation and Selection of Existing Systems
• Development of New Systems and Facilities
• Validation of System Design and Redesign

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National Airspace System
Enterprise Architecture

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Infrastructure Roadmaps - January 2009

• Aircraft
• Air / Ground
• Airspace and Procedures
• Automation
• Communication
• Enterprise Services
• Facility
• Information Systems Security
• Navigation
• Human Systems Integration
• Safety
• Surveillance
• Weather

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En Route Data Communications:
Experimental Human Factors Evaluation

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Experiment Preparation
• Cognitive walkthrough
• Early User Involvement Event/Demonstration
• Target Generation Facility (TGF)
– Build simulation pilot interface to monitor/interact with
simulated DataComm system
– Extend the DataComm message set that TGF supports
• Distributed Environment for SImulation, Rapid
Engineering, and Experimentation (DESIREE)
– Extend the En Route Automation Modernization
emulation to include
• Data entry capabilities to support the DataComm message set
• Data display capabilities to support the DataComm message set

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Experiment Overview

• 24 en route certified professional controllers

• High fidelity air traffic control simulations
• Data collection June – August, 2009
• Controllers participate for 6 days in teams of
two controllers

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Research questions

• Equipage levels
– 0, 10, 50, 100%
• FMS integration
– 0, 50, 100%
• Human Machine Interface
– Keyboard, template, graphical, combined
• Data Communications message delays
– Segment 1 vs. Segment 2 (shorter) delays
• Failure modes
– Individual aircraft, part of the airspace, full system
• Service mode
– Best-equipped, best-served vs. first-come, first-served

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Equipage Levels

• 0 Current voice-based environment

• 10 Equipage early after implementation
• 50 No majority of aircraft with certain capabilities
• 100 High performance airspace

• Potential Issues
– Voice channel congestion
– Performance improvement at low equipage levels
– Mistaking voice-based aircraft as DataComm equipped
– Use of voice for tactical operations in high performance airspace

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Flight Management System Integration

• 0 None of the aircraft can preload messages

• 50 Half of the DataComm aircraft can preload messages
• 100 All of the DataComm aircraft can preload messages

• Potential issues
– Longer pilot delays
– Manual entry of instructions may lead to more errors
– Confusion about what messages are appropriate for an aircraft with
or without FMS integration

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Human Machine Interface

• Keyboard Text-based keyboard entry

• Template Message composition template
• Graphical Point-and-click
• Combined Keyboard, template and graphical available

• Potential issues
– Data entry errors
– Duration of message composition
– Reduced uniform visual scan of traffic patterns (tunnel vision)

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Data Communications message delays

• Technological improvements may reduce the

technical delay
• Pilots may become more familiar with DataComm
and respond to messages more quickly

• Potential issues
– At longer delays, controllers may revert to voice
– At longer delays, more controller-pilot transactions may stay
open simultaneously

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Failure modes

• Individual aircraft
• part of the airspace (e.g. a transceiver fails)
• full system

• Potential issues
– Awareness of DataComm failure for individual aircraft
– Change in workload as a result of DataComm failures
– Recovery from DataComm failures

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Service mode

• First-come, first-served (FCFS)

• Best-equipped, best-served (BEBS)

• Potential issues
– Changes in workload when providing improved service to best-
equipped aircraft
– Awareness of applicable procedures based on aircraft
equipage
– Maintaining safety and efficiency while providing BEBS

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Summary

• DataComm will
– reduce controller workload related to voice
communications
– Potentially change the way controllers work
– Bring human factors issues related to human
machine interface design, procedures, and training
– Form one of the cornerstones that will drive the Next
Generation Air Transportation System

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 Human Factors Team –
Atlantic City

http://hf.tc.faa.gov

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Backup slides

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 Capabilities

En Route

TRACON

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 Capabilities

Tower

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 Capabilities

Traffic Flow Management

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 Virtual Reality Modeling

VR Model Prototype Field Site

En Route Supervisor Work Space

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 Human Factors Design Standard
 Contains human factors design
criteria
 Used for: requirements definition,
procurement, heuristic evaluation,
interface & system design, test and
evaluation, safety audits
 Used to reduce risk, save money
 NextGen Integrated Work Plan
Research and Development
Activities (D-1710, D-2159, D-2155, D-
2157)
 Available in hard copy, on CD
ROM, and on-line
 http://hf.tc.faa.gov/hfds/default.htm

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