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This website includes references that may be useful in the development of air taxi flight deck and ground systems. This material includes relevant human factors design standards and guidelines and studies by NASA, FAA, and others with findings that could be applied to Urban Air Mobility and Advanced Air Mobility. If you know of documents that should be added to this repository or corrections that should be made, please contact Richard Mogford at richard.mogford@nasa.gov. |
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- Human Factors Guidelines and Standards (Click to View/Collapse)
FAA Human Factors Design Standard
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
This document was developed as a comprehensive reference tool to help FAA and contractor human factors professionals carry out FAA human factors policy. It consolidates human factors knowledge, practice, and prior experience into requirements for application to new systems and equipment. It was conceived as a "living document" to be revised as new information became available. Aside from revisions to individual chapters, this document represents the first major revision of HF-STD-001 since its release in 2003. This document compiles extensive guidance from diverse sources for human factors applications integral to the procurement, acquisition, design, development, and testing of FAA systems, facilities, and equipment. It will aid in identifying functional, product, and NAS specification requirements and in ensuring acceptable human factors practice and products.
Department of Defense Design Criteria Standard: Human Engineering. Department of Defense (DOD).
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This standard establishes general human engineering design criteria for military systems, subsystems, equipment, and facilities.
The purpose of this standard is to present human engineering design criteria, principles, and practices to optimize system performance with full consideration of inherent human capabilities and limitations as part of the total system design trade space to more effectively integrate the human as part of the system, subsystems, equipment, and facilities to achieve mission success.
This standard is applicable to the design of all systems, subsystems, equipment, and facilities, except where provisions relating to aircraft design conflict with crew system design requirements or guidelines of JSSG-2010. Unless otherwise stated in specific provisions, this standard applies to design of systems, subsystems, equipment, and facilities for use by both men and women. While this standard provides design criteria with respect to human capabilities and limitations, it is not intended to limit innovation in the design or selection of specific hardware, software, materials, and processes. This standard should be tailored by the Government as part of the contract. If it is not tailored by the Government, the contractor should determine any appropriate tailoring for the applicability to the system and recommend tailoring to the Government for approval.
When manufacturing tolerances are not perceptible to the user, this standard will not be construed as preventing the use of components whose dimensions are within a normal manufacturing upper or lower limit tolerance of the dimensions specified herein.
Ahlstrom, V., Longo, K. (2003). Human Factors Design Standard for Acquisition of Commercial Off-The-Shelf Subsystems, Non-Developmental Items, and Developmental Systems. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/CT-03/05.
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The Human Factors Design Standard (HFDS) provides reference information to assist in the selection, analysis, design, development, and evaluation of new and modified Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) systems and equipment. This document is based largely on the Human Factors Design Guide (HFDG) produced by the FAA in 1996. It converts the original guidelines document to a standard and incorporates updated information, including the newly revised chapters on automation and human-computer interface. The updated document includes extensive reorganization of material based on user feedback on how the document has been used in the past. Additional information has also been added to help the users better understand tradeoffs involved with specific design criteria. This standard covers a broad range of human factors topics that pertain to automation, maintenance, displays and printers, controls and visual indicators, alarms, alerts and voice output, input devices, workplace design, system security, safety, the environment, and anthropometry documentation. This document also includes extensive human-computer interface information.
HSI Guidelines Outline for the Air Vehicle Control Station. NASA Technical Report, DFRC-239, HSI003 Rev 2.
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This document provides guidance to the FAA and manufacturers on how to develop UAS Pilot Vehicle Interfaces to safely and effectively integrate UASs into the NAS. Preliminary guidelines are provided for Aviate, Communicate, Navigate and Avoid Hazard functions. The pilot shall have information and control capability so that pilot-UA interactions are not adverse, unfavorable, nor compromise safety. Unfavorable interactions include anomalous aircraft-pilot coupling (APC) interactions (closed loop), pilot-involved oscillations (categories I, II or III), and non-oscillatory APC events (e.g., divergence). - Human Systems Integration Pilot-Technology Interface Requirements for Command, Control, and Communications (C3).
Human Systems Integration Requirements and Functional Decomposition. NASA Technical Report, DFRC-239, HSI007
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
This deliverable was intended as an input to the Access 5 Policy and Simulation Integrated Product Teams. This document contains high-level pilot functionality for operations in the National Airspace System above FL430. Based on the derived pilot functions the associated pilot information and control requirements are given.
Recommended Practices and Guidelines for an Integrated Cockpit/Flight Deck in a 14 CFR Part 23 Certificated Airplane. General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Technical Publication No. 12.
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This publication prescribes one means, but not the only means of designing an integrated flight deck/cockpit for the applicable airplane (see applicability section below) certificated in accordance with 14 CFR Part 23. Designs that meet the necessary practices and guidelines (see definitions) for the display and control functions included herein for an integrated ("all glass") cockpit or flightdeck may be designated as a "GAMA-Class Flight deckTM" or a "GAMA-Class CockpitTM."
The practices and guidelines described in this publication begin to increase commonality between integrated flight deck/cockpit designs in the applicable airplanes. The ultimate goal is that it allows a pilot proficient in flying under IFR using one manufacturer’s integrated flight deck/cockpit to make a safe transition into an integrated electronic flight deck/cockpit designed by either the same or another manufacturer without "formal" training. However, it is the FAA’s responsibility to determine if this goal has been achieved
Ahlstrom, V., Kudrick, B. (2007). Human Factors Criteria for Displays: A Human Factors Design Standard Update of Chapter 5. FAA Report, DOT/FAA/TC-07/11.
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This document contains updates and expands the design criteria and information on displays from the Human Factors Design Standard. A research team of human factors experts evaluated the existing guidelines for relevancy, clarity, and usability. They drafted new guidelines as necessary based on relevant sources, and they reorganized the document to increase usability. This resulted in extensive changes to the original document including the addition of new guidelines, sources, and topic areas.
Human Factors Engineering of Computer Workstations (ANSI), Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
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This standard covers operator-machine interface issues associated with computer workstations used regularly in offices (i.e., intentionally built indoor office workplaces) for text-, data-, and simple graphics-processing tasks. This standard applies to computer workstations for a wide range of users; in general the physical dimensions and force requirements are designed to accommodate at least 90 percent of the North American population.
Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces (ANSI), Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
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The objective of HFES 200 is to provide design requirements and recommendations that will increase the accessibility, learnability, and ease of use of software. The ultimate beneficiaries are the end users of software, whose needs motivated the design recommendations in HFES 200. The application of this standard is intended to provide user interfaces that are more usable, accessible, and consistent and that enable greater productivity and satisfaction. Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces consists of five parts: HFES 200.1: Introduction; HFES 200.2: Accessibility; HFES 200.3: Interaction Techniques; HFES 200.4: Interactive Voice Response; HFES 200.5: Visual Presentation and Use of Color.
BS EN ISO 9241-161: Ergonomics of Human-System Interaction: Guidance on Visual User-Interface Elements, (BSI Standards). (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
BS EN ISO 9241-171: Ergonomics of Human-System Interaction: Guidance on Software Accessibility,
(BSI Standards). (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
BS EN ISO 9241-20:2009: Ergonomics of Human-System Interaction: Accessibility Guidelines for Information/Communication Technology (ICT) Equipment and Services,
(BSI Standards). (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
BS EN ISO 10075-1:2000: Ergonomic Principles Related to Mental Workload: General Terms and Definitions, (BSI Standards). (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
BS EN ISO 10075-2:2000: Ergonomic Principles Related to Mental Workload: Design Principles, (BSI Standards). (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
BS EN ISO 10075-3:2004: Ergonomic Principles Related to Mental Workload: Principles and Requirements Concerning Methods for Measuring and Assessing Mental Workload, (BSI Standards). (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
Standard Specification for Design of the Command and Control System for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). (ASTM International Standard). (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
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This specification provides a consensus standard for an application to a nation's governing aviation authority (GAA) for a permit to operate a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) for commercial or public use purposes. It is intended for all sUAS that are allowed to operate over a defined area and in airspace authorized by a nation's GAA. Unless otherwise specified by a nation's GAA, this specification applies only to UAs that have a maximum gross takeoff weight of 25 kg (55 lb) or less. This specification covers general command and control (C2) requirements, C2 system spectrum requirements, C2 link requirements, UA requirements, and fly-away functionality.
Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems II (TCAS II), RTCA Standards. (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
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The scope of this document: 1) improved efficiency of the TCAS surveillance function so as to reduce utilization of the 1030 and 1090 MHz channel without reducing the effectiveness of the equipment's collision avoidance function, 2) allows TCAS to implement a narrow band Mode S receive function compatible with the RTCA/DO-260B ADS-B receiver requirements without negatively impacting the TCAS receiver function, 3) updates the flight test requirements to add Atlanta as an alternate location for high density Mode S flight testing and to modify the combined air and ground density requirement accordingly, 4) decreases the TCAS RA broadcast interval from 8 seconds to 1 second to be compatible with the intended use of this data by ground controllers, and 5) clarifies the intent of interference limiting by adding text to the requirements and adding a new test.
Apple Human Interface Guidelines
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Get in-depth information and UI resources for designing great apps that integrate seamlessly with Apple platforms.
ICAO: Human Factors Documents, ICAO Human Factors Digests and Manuals.
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The ICAO formally addressed the Human Factors issue since 1986, when ICAO has adopted Assembly Resolution A26-9 (ICAO, 2011). One of the methods chosen to comply with Assembly Resolution A26-9 is the publication of guidance materials, manuals, and a Human Factors Digests, which addresses different aspects of Human Factors.
Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH), NASA/SP-2010-3407.
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The Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH), NASA/SP-2010-3407, provides guidance for the crew health, habitability, environment, and human factors design of all NASA human spaceflight programs and projects.
The two primary uses for the handbook are to 1) help requirement writers prepare contractual program-specific human interface requirements – users include program managers and system requirement writers, and 2) help designers develop designs and operations for human interfaces in spacecraft – users include human factors practitioners, engineers and designers, crews and mission / flight controllers, and training and operations developers
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Human Integration Design Processes (HIDP), NASA/TP-2014-218556.
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The purpose of the Human Integration Design Processes (HIDP) document is to provide human-systems integration design processes, including methodologies and best practices that NASA has used to meet human systems and human rating requirements for developing crewed spacecraft. HIDP content is framed around human-centered design methodologies and processes in support of human-system integration requirements and human rating.
NASA-STD-3001, Space Flight Human-System Standard, is a two-volume set of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Agency-level standards established by the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer, directed at minimizing health and performance risks for flight crews in human space flight programs. Volume 1 of NASA-STD-3001, Crew Health, sets standards for fitness for duty, space flight permissible exposure limits, permissible outcome limits, levels of medical care, medical diagnosis, intervention, treatment and care, and countermeasures. Volume 2 of NASA-STD-3001, Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health, focuses on human physical and cognitive capabilities and limitations and defines standards for spacecraft (including orbiters, habitats, and suits), internal environments, facilities, payloads, and related equipment, hardware, and software with which the crew interfaces during space operations. The NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 8705.2B, Human-Rating Requirements for Space Systems, specifies the Agency’s human-rating processes, procedures, and requirements.
The HIDP was written to share NASA's knowledge of processes directed toward achieving human certification of a spacecraft through implementation of human-systems integration requirements. Although the HIDP speaks directly to implementation of NASA-STD-3001 and NPR 8705.2B requirements, the human-centered design, evaluation, and design processes described in this document can be applied to any set of human-systems requirements and are independent of reference missions.
Guidance on the Application of Human Factors to Consumer Products, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Health Canada: Consumer Product Safety Directorate .
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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff and Health Canada's Consumer and Hazardous Products Safety Directorate (“Health Canada”) have developed this guidance document to help consumer product manufacturers integrate human factors principles into their product development process.
Many product-related injuries can be prevented by better design. Providing the consumer product industry with suggestions on how to apply human factors principles to their products can help lower the number of product-related adverse incidents and reduce costly compliance and enforcement actions. These suggestions can be tailored to meet the needs of a particular product, while understanding that not all practices apply to all products.
As a first step, Health Canada conducted a literature review. In a manner consistent with copyright limitations, material was extracted from the documents reviewed as input for this document. Further details can be found in the bibliography at the end of this paper.
Beyond what is outlined in this document, industry is reminded to comply with relevant rules and regulatory requirements in the respective jurisdictions. Rules or regulatory requirements that apply to specific products must be a part of the human factors analysis throughout the lifecycle of a product. Beyond this, industry should consider any relevant voluntary standards that may help inform the design of a particular product. Beyond product-specific design considerations, industry must also comply with other requirements, such as record retention and incident reporting.
Furman, S., Theofanos, F., Wald, H. (2014). Human Engineering Design Criteria Standards Part 1: Project Introduction and Existing Standards, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 7889.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires general human systems integration (HSI) criteria for the design and development of human-machine interfaces for their technology, systems, equipment, and facilities. The goal of DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Human Factors and Behavioral Science Division Human Systems Engineering Project is to identify, develop, and apply a standard process to enhance technology and system design, system safety, and operational efficiency.
The project manager partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Visualization and Usability Group (VUG) in furtherance of this effort. As part of its mission, NIST performs research to develop the technical basis for standards related to measurement, equipment specifications, procedures, and quality control benchmarks for industrial processes (among others), while remaining objective and vendor-neutral for organizations and users in industry, academia, government, and other sectors. VUG, part of the NIST Information Technology Laboratory, conducts research in HSI and human-computer interaction (HCI) technologies. Members of VUG are also active on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committees Working Groups In HCI.
NIST's work on this project consists of three phases: 1) identify and review the body of publicly available existing human factors and HSI standards, best practices, and guidelines for applicability to DHS, 2) apply a user-centered design (UCD) approach for the DHS organization in order to determine how existing HSI standards can be mapped to DHS needs, technology, and processes, 3) determine where DHS may need to augment existing HSI standards and/or create new DHS HSI standards to meet organizational needs.
Simply put, HSI is the relationship between humans and their environment and in particular how systems are designed and used relative to that relationship with the goal of ensuring a safe and effective environment that meets the mission. In general, HSI includes the integration of hardware, software and processes (including the acquisition process and the design process). HSI design criteria, principles, and practices will benefit DHS by: 1) improving performance of personnel, 2) reducing skill and personnel requirements and training time, 3) enhancing the usability, safety, acceptability and affordability of technology and systems, and 4) achieving the required reliability and productivity of personnel-equipment combinations.
But most importantly for DHS, DHS HSI Design Criteria Standards will foster design standardization and interoperability within and among DHS systems.
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- General Human Factors (Click to View/Collapse)
Stanton, N., Li, W.C., Harris, D. (2019). Editorial: Ergonomics and Human Factors in
Aviation. , Ergonomics, 62:2, 131-137.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Ergonomics and Human Factors (E/HF) in Aviation is essential for the safety and efficiency of commercial airlines, passenger, cargo and military operations, and for the well-being of their passengers. However, it also extends beyond the aircraft to air traffic control and management, maintenance, regulatory bodies and policy makers. E/HF has a long history of innovations in theory, methodology, science and application. For example, approaches have evolved from the examination of the activities of individual pilots, through to crew resource management to considering entire aviation systems and their emergent properties. Similarly, ergonomics methodologies have moved from focussing on individual tasks to entire systems, the constraints shaping behaviour and the culture of organisations. The aim of this special issue is to provide researchers and practitioners with an opportunity to discover the very latest research trends for E/HF in Aviation.
In a previous special issue of Ergonomics on this topic, Harris and Stanton (2010) made the point that aviation is a system of systems. Some of this complexity is characterised in Figure 1, which shows that the aviation sociotechnical system comprises airports, aircraft, airlines, air traffic management (ATM) and air traffic control (ATC). All of these systems interact with each other within the rules and regulations of the aviation authorities around the world. The papers within this special issue offer good coverage of topics across the systems highlighted in Figure 1, including ATC, passenger comfort, automation, pilot mental workload, hypoxia, crewing of aircraft, design of controls and displays, and crew resource management.
The main themes for this special issue on E/HF in Aviation are: system approaches, crew resource management, helicopter operations, design of input/output devices, and last, but not least, passenger comfort. Each will be presented in turn.
Comstock, R., Arnegard, R. (1992). The Multi-Attribute Task Battery for Human Operator Workload and Strategic Behavior Research. NASA-TM-104174.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The Multi-Attribute Task (MAT) Battery provides a benchmark set of tasks for use in a wide range of laboratory studies of operator performance and workload. The battery incorporates tasks analogous to activities that aircraft crew members perform in flight, while providing a high degree of experimenter control, performance data on each subtask, and freedom to use non-pilot test subjects. Features not found in existing computer-based tasks include an auditory communications task (to simulate Air Traffic Control communication), a resource management task permitting many avenues or strategies of maintaining target performance, a scheduling window which gives the operator information about future task demands, and the option of manual or automated control of tasks. Performance data are generated for each subtask. In addition, the task battery may be paused and onscreen workload rating scales presented to the subject. The MAT battery requires a desktop computer (80286/386/486 processor) with color graphics (at least 640 x 350 pixel). The communications task requires a serial link to a second desktop computer with a voice synthesizer or digitizer card.
Skybrary: Situational Awareness
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Put simply, situational awareness (SA) means appreciating all you need to know about what is going on when the full scope of your task - flying, controlling or maintaining an aircraft - is taken into account. More specifically and in the context of complex operational environments, SA is concerned with the person's knowledge of particular task-related events and phenomena. For example, for a fighter pilot SA means knowing about the threats and intentions of enemy forces as well as the status of his/her own aircraft. For an air traffic controller, SA means (at least partly) knowing about current aircraft positions and flight plans and predicting future states so as to detect possible conflicts. Therefore, in operational terms, SA means having an understanding of the current state and dynamics of a system and being able to anticipate future change and developments.
Yeh, M., Swider, C., Jin Jo, Y., Donovan, C. (2016). Human Factors Considerations in the Design and Evaluation of Flight Deck Displays and Controls v2.0. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/TC-16/56.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The objective of this effort is to have a single source reference document for human factors regulatory and guidance material for flight deck displays and controls, in the interest of improving aviation safety. This document identifies guidance on human factors issues to consider in the design and evaluation of avionics displays and controls for all types of aircraft (14 CFR parts 23, 25, 27, and 29). It is intended to facilitate the identification and resolution of typical human factors issues that are frequently reported by FAA Aircraft Certification Specialists. This document supersedes the Version 1 report (DOT/FAA/TC-13/44; DOT-VNTSC-FAA-13-09). Topics address the human factors/pilot interface aspects of the display hardware, software, alerts/annunciations, and controls as well as considerations for flight deck design philosophy, intended function, error management, workload, and automation. Sample testing procedures and scenarios, and a list of key references are provided as appendices to facilitate the use and application of this document.
FAA Safety Human Factors Overview. FAA Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Handbook Addendum.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Why are human conditions, such as fatigue, complacency, and stress, so important in aviation maintenance? These conditions, along with many others, are called human factors. Human factors directly cause or contribute to many aviation accidents. It is universally agreed that 80 percent of maintenance errors involve human factors. If they are not detected, they can cause events, worker injuries, wasted time, and even accidents.
Introduction to Color Guidelines and Standards- In this section we briefly discuss some of the reasons why we have guidelines and standards. We also discuss and illustrate some problems of guidelines and standards as a means for assurance of quality of color usage, and suggest some research directions toward solving the problems.
Applied Color Science- The Color Science portion of the site includes the following pages: Applied Color Science, Luminance and Chromaticity, Color Discrimination and Identification, Legibility, Designing with Blue, Individual Differences in Color Vision, Masking by Patterns, Blinking, Flashing, and Temporal Response, Simultaneous and Successive Contrast, Display Hardware and Software, Reflected Light.
Color Graphics Topics- The Color Graphics Topics portion of the site includes information about how to implement the processes called for in the Design Process checklist: Labeling with Color, Grouping with Color, Color and Popout, Creating Urgency Hierarchies, Creating Perceptual Layers, Designing with Luminance Contrast, Luminance Contrast in Color Graphics, Choosing Background Colors, Last Resorts: Outlining / Infills.
Beer, D., Smallman, H., Scott, C., Nixon, M. (2012). Applying Color Science to Design Effective Human-Machine Interfaces.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Color science is the 'jewel in the crown' of our understanding of human vision. From photon to physiology, from molecule to mechanism, color has progressively surrendered its secrets. From Newton’s famous initial observations with prisms three centuries ago, through the Neitz’s astonishing recent genetic curing of color blindness in monkeys three years ago, there have been enormous advances in our basic and clinical understanding of color. Our children will quite likely see color blindness eradicated in their lifetime.
For our application, there are now industry-standard, quantitative models of human color appearance and discrimination. This all begs a rather large question. If color science is so advanced, why is it routinely not applied to HMI design? There are several reasons.
The guidelines to apply color are written most often by researchers for researchers. Simple, actionable guidance for HMI developers is missing. Also missing from the guidelines is a clear process to apportion colors, tailored to domain needs. It requires sophistication in color science, paired with an applied human factors orientation (possessed by the first two authors), together with a domain understanding and engineering expertise in process control HMIs (possessed by the third and fourth authors). Well-designed and consistent use of color results in consistent outcomes, improved production and efficiency, and reduced incidents. This paper reports our collaboration to apply color science to improve process control HMIs.
Chapanis, A. (1991). To Communicate the Human Factors Message, You Have to Know What the Message Is and How to Communicate It. Human Factors Society Bulletin, 34, 1-4.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Human Factors is a body of knowledge about human abilities, human limitations, and other human characteristics that are relevant to design. Human factors engineering is the application of human factors information to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for safe, comfortable, and effective human use.
Endsley, M. (2011). Designing for Situation Awareness: An Approach to User-Centered Design, Second Edition. CRC Press Inc. (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The barrage of data overload is threatening the ability of people to effectively operate in a wide range of systems including aircraft cockpits & ground control stations, military command and control centers, intelligence operations, emergency management, medical systems, air traffic control centers, automobiles, financial and business management systems, space exploration, and power and process control rooms. All of these systems need user interfaces that allow people to effectively manage the information available to gain a high level of understanding of what is currently happening and projections on what will happen next. They need systems designed to support Situation Awareness. Addressing the information gap between the plethora of disorganized, low-level data and what decision makers really need to know, Designing for Situation Awareness: An Approach to User-Centered Design, Second Edition provides a successful, systematic methodology and 50 design principles for engineers and designers seeking to improve the situation awareness of their systems users based on leading research on a wide range of relevant issues. So, whats new in the Second Edition: Significantly expanded and updated examples throughout to a wider range of domains New Chapters: Situation Awareness Oriented Training and Supporting SA in Unmanned and Remotely Operated Vehicles Updated research findings and expanded discussion of the SA design principles and guidelines to cover new areas of development Mica R. Endsley is a pioneer and world leader in the study and application of situation awareness in advanced systems. Debra G. Jones work is focused on designing large-scale and complex systems to support situation awareness and dynamic decision making. Completely revised and updated, liberally illustrated with actual design examples, this second edition demonstrates how people acquire and interpret information and examines the factors that undermine this process. Endsley and Jones distill their expertise and translate current research into usable, applicable methods and guidelines.
Norman, D. (1988). The psychology of everyday things. New York: Basic Books. (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
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Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure our which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The book presents examples aplenty, among them, the VCR, computer, and office telephone, all models of how not to design for people. But good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time. But the designer must care.
Shneiderman, D., Plaisant, C., Cohen, M., Jacobs, S., Elmqvist, N., Diakopoulos, N. (2017). Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction, 6th Edition. Pearson Books. (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The Sixth Edition of Designing the User Interface provides a comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date introduction to the dynamic field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX) design. This classic book has defined and charted the astonishing evolution of user interfaces for three decades. Students and professionals learn practical principles and guidelines needed to develop high quality interface designs that users can understand, predict, and control. The book covers theoretical foundations and design processes such as expert reviews and usability testing.
By presenting current research and innovations in human-computer interaction, the authors strive to inspire students, guide designers, and provoke researchers to seek solutions that improve the experiences of novice and expert users, while achieving universal usability. The authors also provide balanced presentations on controversial topics such as augmented and virtual reality, voice and natural language interfaces, and information visualization.
Updates include current HCI design methods, new design examples, and totally revamped coverage of social media, search and voice interaction. Major revisions were made to EVERY chapter, changing almost every figure (170 new color figures) and substantially updating the references.
Stramler, J. (1992). The Dictionary for Human Factors/Ergonomics: A Significant Reference Work in Human Factors.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. Vol 36, Issue 6, 1992.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The Dictionary for Human Factors/Ergonomics is a major compilation of the basic terminology in the field of ergonomics. This unique dictionary contains over 8,000 terms representing all areas of human factors. For many terms, a commentary is provided to help place the term in perspective and elaborate on its use. Applicable acronyms and abbreviations are included. Two appendices are featured in the book as well. The first appendix is an alphabetical listing of abbreviations and acronyms with their respective terms for easy cross-referencing. The second appendix contains a list of national and international organizations involved in human factors/ergonomic research and/or applications.
Peer-reviewed for accuracy and comprehensiveness, The Dictionary for Human Factors/Ergonomics is an essential reference for professionals, academics, and students in engineering, psychology, safety, law, and management. It is especially useful for human factors professionals working in government and industry.
NASA Task Load Index (TLX) website and iOS App.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The Official NASA Task Load Index (TLX) is a subjective workload assessment tool to allow users to perform subjective workload assessments on operator(s) working with various human-machine interface systems. Originally developed as a paper and pencil questionnaire by NASA Ames Research Center's (ARC) Sandra Hart in the 1980s, NASA TLX has become the gold standard for measuring subjective workload across a wide range of applications.
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Click to View/Collapse)
Bakowski, D. L., Lee, P. U., Brasil, C. L., & Evans, M. (2022). Integrating Upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM) Operations into the National Airspace System: Use Cases and Research Questions. Proceedings of the 2022 AIAA/IEEE 41st Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC). Paper presented at 2022 AIAA/IEEE 41st Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Portsmouth, VA, September 18–22, 2022.
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As new categories of vehicles are introduced in the National Airspace System, so too are novel concepts for a cooperative approach to traffic management environments. One of these new environments, Upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM), is expected to include a variety of high altitude, long endurance vehicles with a range of performance capabilities and mission profiles that operate in cooperative areas above 60,000 feet. In addition to developing the rules, architecture, and systems for operations within the ETM environment itself, it is also important to consider how ETM vehicles will integrate with traditional Air Traffic Management and interact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) as they traverse ATC-controlled airspace and transition in and out of cooperative ETM operating areas.
As a first step toward future ETM demonstrations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center’s Airspace Operations Laboratory, use cases with step-by-step procedures were developed to identify both nominal and off-nominal scenarios in which ETM operations will interact with ATC. As NASA prepares to develop a simulation platform to demonstrate ETM cooperative practices and ETMATC interactions, the procedures, ATC roles and responsibilities, data exchange requirements, and research questions that were identified as part of use case development will inform scenario and system architecture design. The upcoming simulation work will include initial prototype ETM-ATC coordination tools to support ATC interactions with ETM operations.
This paper will briefly discuss NASA’s upcoming ETM development work and then provide background on ETM-ATC interactions, describe each ETM-ATC interaction use case, and discuss open questions on concept, procedures, and assumptions.
Lee, P. U., Chartrand, R., Oseguera-Lohr, R., Brasil, C. L., Bakowski, D. L., Gabriel, C. V., & Evans, M. (2022). Identifying Common Use Cases across Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) for Interactions with Air Traffic Controllers. Proceedings of the AIAA SciTech Forum (2022–1785). Paper presented at AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum, San Diego, CA/Virtual, January 3–7, 2022.
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NASA's Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) builds on the foundation and the architecture of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) concept and extends it broadly to other domains, such as Advanced / Urban Air Mobility (AAM/UAM) and Upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM). These xTM concepts assume the ability to fly in airspace that is authorized to operate solely under xTM services and mostly without any air traffic control (ATC) support. However, they also assume circumstances in which the xTM vehicles would need to operate in conventional ATC-managed airspace, both during nominal and off-nominal scenarios. Due to the vast differences in the xTM vehicle performances and missions, there is a concern that ATC may have difficulty in safely managing the xTM traffic and providing appropriate services to all vehicles, unless a consistent set of roles, procedures, and data exchange requirements are defined across the diverse set of xTM vehicle operations. In this paper, we describe a set of use cases that have been identified in UTM, AAM/UAM, and ETM operations that are related to ATC interactions, and we propose to categorize these use cases across xTM domains based on common trigger events. Organizing the use cases from the perspective of ATC roles per each trigger event is expected to provide the first step in discovering common procedures and data requirements across xTM domains that could help ease the controllers' cognitive task load and allow them to manage these interactions more safely.
Vincent, M., Monk, K., Rivas, M., St. John, C. (2022). Unmanned Aircraft System Flight Test Approach Supporting the Development of Regulatory Recommendations for Integration with the National Airspace System. In Systems Concepts and Integration (SCI-328) Panel Symposium on Flight Testing of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Segovia, Spain.
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project performed research that was critical to developing minimum operational performance standards for systems that will enable unmanned aircraft systems to routinely access the National Airspace System. As part of this research effort the project conducted a series of flight tests that validated several technologies and procedures which were key to developing the minimum operational performance standards, which will in turn guide industry in certifying unmanned aircraft systems. Flight Test Series 3 and Series 4 focused on unmanned aircraft systems operations using larger vehicles, with performance characteristics similar to transport category manned aircraft, transitioning through Class E airspace. The Flight Test 3 and Flight Test 4 efforts utilized the NASA Ikhana unmanned aircraft system, a civilianized General Atomics - Aeronautical Systems Inc. (San Diego, California, U.S.A.) MQ-9 Predator/Reaper, outfitted with a General Atomics developed detect and avoid systemthat included an air-to-air radar providing non-cooperative sensing capability to validate the detect and avoid algorithms and separation criteria. These flight tests also enabled the development and testing of a test architecture and infrastructure needed for subsequent flight tests.
The flight test series conducted by the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project culminated with the Flight Test 6 effort that used a Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation (Warminster, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) TigerShark XP unmanned aircraft system to investigate low cost, size, weight, and power operations in the National Airspace System. The Flight Test 6 effort incorporated lessons learned from all the earlier flight-test activities, including Flight Test 3 and Flight Test 4, and implemented a "full mission" simulation of low cost, size, weight, and power unmanned aircraft systems operations in a representative airspace environment. The full mission simulation allowed a number of metrics to be collected that were valuable to the minimum operational performance standards development process, including human response times, performance in remaining well-clear of aircraft, and the acceptability of the complete unmanned aircraft system. To create a representative airspace environment, the NASA live virtual constructive distributed environment was utilized to combine multiple assets from across NASA into a single, coherent simulation.
Wang, W., Wu, M., Monk, K. (2021). Detect-and-Avoid Maneuver Planning: Benefits of Including Route Recapture. In AIAA Scitech 2021 Forum (p. 0451).
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Development of Detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems' maneuver guidance requirements at RTCA has centered on tactical maneuvers away from the intruder. Recapturing the flight-plan route the initial maneuver is not directly taken into account by most DAA maneuver guidance algorithms. This work demonstrates potential challenges and inefficiencies that can arise in recapturing the route after resolving a conflict. Horizontal resolution trajectories for a test matrix of encounters with varying aircraft speeds and geometries are computed by minimizing either flight time or deviation to serve as a baseline. Turn directions computed from a reference DAAalgorithm coupled with a pilot selectionmodel and a second algorithm called Autoresolver (AR) are compared to these baseline resolution trajectories. Baseline results show that turning into the intruder yields favorable cost for most encounters. Additional analysis of pilot response data shows that only three-fourths of pilots horizontal maneuvers turn into intruders, a percentage much lower than the baseline results. Improvement to a DAA guidance algorithm based on findings in this work is discussed.
Smith, C., Sadler, G., Tyson, T., Brandt, S., Rorie, C., Keeler, J., Monk, K., Viramontes, J., Dolgov, I. (2021). A Cognitive Walkthrough of Multiple Drone Delivery Operations. In AIAA AVIATION 2021 FORUM (p. 2330). doi: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2021-2330.
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Advances of early twenty-first century aviation and transportation technologies provide opportunities for enhanced aerial projects, and the overall integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) has applications across a wide range of operations. Through these, remote operators have learned to manage several UAS at the same time in a variety of operational environments. The present work details a component piece of an ongoing body of research into multi-UAS operations. Beginning in early 2020, NASA has collaborated with Uber Technologies to design and develop concepts of operations, roles and responsibilities, and ground control station (GCS) concepts to enable food delivery operations via multiple, small UAS (sUAS). A cognitive walkthrough was chosen as the method for data collection. This allowed information to be gathered from UAS subject matter experts (SMEs) that could further mature designs for future human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulations; in addition, it allowed information to be collected remotely during the stringent restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the described cognitive walkthrough activity utilized remote data collection protocols mediated through the usage of programs designed for presentation and telecommunications. Scenarios were designed, complete with airspace, contingencies, and remedial actions, to be presented to the SMEs. Information was collected using a combination of rating scales and open-ended questions. Results received from the SMEs revealed expected hazards, workloads, and information concerns inherent in the contingency scenarios. SMEs also provided insight into the design of GCS tools and displays as well as the duties and relationships of human operators (i.e., monitors) and automation (i.e., informers and flight managers). Implications of these findings are discussed.
Vu, K., Vanluven, J., Diep, T., Battiste, V., Brandt, S., Monk, K., Rorie, C., Shively, R., Strybel, T. (2021). Impact of UAS with low size, weight, and power sensors on air traffic controllers’ performance and acceptability ratings. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 64th International Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
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A human-in-the-loop simulation was conducted to evaluate the impact of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) with low size, weight, and power (SWaP) sensors operating in a busy, low-altitude sector. Use of low SWaP sensors allow for UAS to perform detect-and-avoid (DAA) maneuvers against non-transponding traffic in the sector. Depending upon the detection range of the low SWaP sensor, the UAS pilot may or may not have time to coordinate with air traffic controllers (ATCos) prior to performing the DAA maneuver. ATCo’s sector performance and subjective ratings of acceptability were obtained in four conditions that varied in UAS-ATCo coordination (all or none) prior to the DAA maneuver and workload (higher or lower). For performance, ATCos committed more losses of separation in high than low workload conditions. They also had to make more flight plan changes to manage the UAS when the UAS pilot did not coordinate DAA maneuvers compared to when they did coordinate the maneuvers prior to execution. Although the ATCos found the DAA procedures used by the UAS in the study to be acceptable, most preferred the UAS pilot to coordinate their DAA maneuvers with ATCos prior to executing them.
Vincent, M., Rorie, C., Keeler, J., Monk, K., Smith, C., Sadler, G. (2021). UAS Integration in the NAS Flight Test 6: Full Mission Results. NASA/TM - 20205009771.
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Recent standards development efforts for the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS), such as those in RTCA Inc. Special Committee 228 (SC-228), have focused on relatively large UAS transitioning to and from Class A airspace. To expand the range of vehicle classes that can access the NAS, the NASA UAS Integration in the NAS project has investigated Low Size, Weight, and Power (Low SWaP) technologies that would allow smaller UAS to detect-and-avoid (DAA) traffic. Through batch and human in the loop (HITL) simulation studies, the UAS Integration in the NAS DAA subproject has identified candidate performance standards that would contribute to enabling extended Low SWaP, UAS operations under 10,000 feet. These candidate performance standards include minimum field of regard (FOR) values for Low SWaP air surveillance sensors as well as a DAA well-clear (DWC) definition which can be applied to non-cooperative traffic to reduce the required maneuver initiation range.
To test the assumptions of the project’s simulation studies and validate the candidate performance standards, a live flight research event was executed at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. The UAS Integration in the NAS Project Flight Test 6 Full Mission sought to characterize UAS pilot responses to traffic conflicts using a representative Low SWAP DAA system in an operational NAS environment. To achieve this live, virtual and constructive distributed environment (LVC-DE), elements were combined to simulate a sector of Oakland center airspace and induce encounters with a live, manned aircraft A NAVMAR Applied Sciences Tigershark XP was used as the UAS ownship and was integrated into the test architecture to enable it to be controlled from a Vigilant Spirit Control Station (VSCS) research ground control station. Qualified UAS pilots were recruited to act as subject pilots under test (SPUT) to control the Tigershark XP in a simulated mission while coordinating with a participating air traffic controller in simulated airspace. The intruder speed, intruder equipage and encounter geometry were varied between six scripted encounters per SPUT. Various metrics were collected including pilot reaction time from the onset of DAA alert, ATC coordination rate, probability and severity of losses of DAA well clear, and subjective ratings of system acceptability.
Flight Test 6 Full Mission was successfully executed in October and November 2019. Results indicated that the subject pilots completed the simulated missions with zero losses of well-clear and generally low workload ratings, although avoidance maneuvers were larger and reaction times were longer than was found in HITL lab studies. In the post-flight subjective questionnaire, subject pilots indicated that the sensor FOR would not allow coordination with ATC and would have preferred a longer sensor range if flying in the NAS. The implications of these results on the development of standards for Low SWAP DAA systems will be discussed.
Keeler, J., Rorie, C., Monk, K., Sadler, G., Smith, C. (2020). An evaluation of UAS pilot workload and acceptability ratings with four simulated radar declaration ranges. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 64th International Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. > View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Currently, minimum operational performance standards (MOPS) are being developed for a broader range of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) platforms, including smaller UAS that will feature onboard sensors that are low in size, weight, and power, otherwise known as low SWaP. The low SWaP sensors used to detect non-cooperative traffic will have limited declaration ranges compared to those designed for medium-to-large UAS. A human-in-the-loop (HITL) study was conducted examining four possible radar declaration ranges (i.e., 1.5 NM, 2 NM, 2.5 NM, and 3 NM) for a potential low SWaP sensor with a detect and avoid (DAA) system encountering various non-cooperative encounters in Oakland Center airspace. Participants had lower workload, particularly workload associated with temporal demand and effort, in scenarios that featured larger detection ranges. Furthermore, participants reported better ability to remain DAA well clear within the larger declaration range conditions, specifically with the 2.5 NM and 3 NM conditions.
Edwards, T., Wolter, C., Bridges, W., Evans, M., Keeler, J., Hiyashi, M. (2020). Bowtie Analysis of the Effects of Unmanned Aircraft on Air Traffic Control. AIAA Aviation Forum, Virtual Event, June 15-19, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2021-2334. > View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Within the aviation domain, there is a growing industry demand to develop and integrate remotely piloted operations into the National Airspace System. However, it is not yet well understood how the integration of unmanned aircraft with impact air traffic control, and specifically, the air traffic controllers who are at the sharp end of this safety critical system. This research presented in this paper aimed to begin to address this gap in understanding by identifying and exploring potential hazards associated with introducing Unmanned Aircraft into the national airspace system, and identify possible mitigations to reduce identified risks. A bowtie risk analysis methodology was used to identify and analyze hazards. A focus-group format discussion was conducted with nine subject matter experts as participants. Findings identified five areas of potential risk, each associated with multiple hazards. Mitigations for each hazard are reported. Findings have essential implications for the safe and efficient integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace.
Smith, C., Rorie, C., Monk, K., Keeler, J., Sadler, G. (2020). UAS Pilot Assessments of Display and Alerting for the Airborne Collision Avoidance System XU. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 64th International Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. > View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) must comply with specific standards to operate in the National Airspace System (NAS). Among the requirements are the detect and avoid (DAA) capabilities, which include display, alerting, and guidance specifications. Previous studies have queried pilots for their subjective feedback of these display elements on earlier systems; the present study sought pilot evaluations with an initial iteration of the unmanned variant of a Next Generation Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS XU). Sixteen participants piloted simulated aircraft with both standalone and integrated DAA displays. Their opinions were gathered using post-block and post-simulation questionnaires as well as guided debriefs. The data showed pilots had better understanding and comfort with the system when using an integrated display. Pilots also rated ACAS XU alerting and guidance as generally acceptable and effective. Implications for further development of ACAS XU and DAA displays are discussed.
Monk, K., Keeler, J., Rorie, C., Sadler, G., Smith, C. (2020). UAS Pilot Performance Comparisons with Different Low Size, Weight and Power Sensor Ranges. 39th Digital Avionics Systems Conference Proceedings, San Antonio, TX. > View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The present study evaluated the performance of UAS pilots under four simulated low size, weight, and power (SwaP) sensor ranges: 1.5nmi, 2.0nmi, 2.5nmi, and 3.0nmi. Nine active-duty UAS pilots responded to scripted DAA conflicts against non-cooperative intruders while flying a simulated RQ-7 Shadow at varied speeds along a pre-filed flight path in Class E airspace. Findings revealed a linear effect of sensor range on alerting time and separation performance, with nearly every DAA well clear (DWC) violation and all Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) events occurring below 2.5nmi. Response time differences at these reduced ranges were negligible due to the high frequency of warning-level alerts that require an immediate response. Since caution alert duration was truncated to some degree by each tested declaration range, pilots were often unable to coordinate their avoidance maneuvers with ATC prior to their uploads. Nonetheless, the 2.5nmi range allowed minimum alerting times that were sufficient for acceptable pilot performance. These findings will inform DAA system requirements for UAS with alternative surveillance equipment and aircraft performance capabilities. Implications on DAA display and sensor requirements are discussed.
Truitt, T., Zingale, C., Konkel, A. (2016). UAS Operational Assessment: Visual Compliance-Human-in-the-Loop Simulation to Assess How UAS Integration in Class C Airspace Will Affect Air Traffic Control Specialists. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/TC-16/11. > View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
This report documents issues associated with the inability of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to comply with visual compliance rules (14 CFR Part 91) in Class C airspace. The visual compliance limitations of UAS increase aircraft spacing requirements and restrict UAS pilots and Air Traffic Control Specialists (ATCS) from conducting operations (a) that help ATCS manage their workload and (b) that improve airspace efficiency. The authors conducted high-fidelity, human-in-the-loop simulations to examine how UAS integration in Class C airspace affected ATCS subjective ratings of workload and performance. The authors also collected objective measures of communications, airspace efficiency, and safety. The results indicated that UAS integration tended to increase ATCS workload ratings and to decrease their self-rated performance. Radio communications also became shorter and more frequent when UAS were present. UAS integration tended to reduce airspace efficiency, but it did not affect safety. The authors expect that training and experience with UAS operations will mitigate effects associated with ATCS workload and self-rated performance. However, UAS integration may reduce efficiency in congested airspace until UAS implement technological or procedural solutions that allow them to overcome the limitations associated with visual compliance. The authors provide recommendations for continued UAS research that will inform the development of FAA standards and procedures for the safe and efficient integration of UAS into the National Airspace System.
Ghatas, R., Jack, D., Tsakpinis, D., Vincent, M., Sturdy, J., Munoz, C., Hoffler, K., Dutle, A., Myer, R., DeHaven, A., Lewis, E., Arthur, K. (2017). Unmanned Aircraft Systems Minimum Operational Performance Standards End-to-End Verification and Validation (E2-V2) Simulation, NASA-TM-2017-219598
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As Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) make their way to mainstream aviation operations within the National Airspace System (NAS), research efforts are underway to develop a safe and effective environment for their integration into the NAS. Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems are required to account for the lack of “eyes in the sky” due to having no human on-board the aircraft. The current NAS relies on pilot’s vigilance and judgement to remain Well Clear (CFR 14 91.113) of other aircraft. RTCA SC-228 has defined DAA Well Clear (DAAWC) to provide a quantified Well Clear volume to allow systems to be designed and measured against. Extended research efforts have been conducted to understand and quantify system requirements needed to support a UAS pilot’s ability to remain well clear of other aircraft. The efforts have included developing and testing sensor, algorithm, alerting, and display requirements. More recently, sensor uncertainty and uncertainty mitigation strategies have been evaluated.
This paper discusses results and lessons learned from an End-to-End Verification and Validation (E2-V2) simulation study of a DAA system representative of RTCA SC-228’s proposed Phase I DAA Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS). NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) was called upon to develop a system that evaluates a specific set of encounters, in a variety of geometries, with end-to-end DAA functionality including the use of sensor and tracker models, a sensor uncertainty mitigation model, DAA algorithmic guidance in both vertical and horizontal maneuvering, and a pilot model which maneuvers the ownship aircraft to remain well clear from intruder aircraft, having received collective input from the previous modules of the system. LaRC developed a functioning batch simulation and added a sensor/tracker model from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center, an in-house developed sensor uncertainty mitigation strategy, and implemented a pilot model similar to one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL). The resulting simulation provides the following key parameters, among others, to evaluate the effectiveness of the MOPS DAA system: severity of loss of well clear (SLoWC), alert scoring, and number of increasing alerts (alert jitter). The technique, results, and lessons learned from a detailed examination of DAA system performance over specific test vectors and encounter cases during the simulation experiment will be presented in this paper.
Comstock, J., Ghatas, R., Vincent, M., Consiglio, M., Munoz, C., Chamberlain, J., Volk, P., Arthur, K. (2016). Unmanned Aircraft Systems Human-in-the-Loop Controller and Pilot Acceptability Study: Collision Avoidance, Self-Separation, and Alerting Times (CASSAT), NASA-TM-2016-219181.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been mandated by the Congressional funding bill of 2012 to open the National Airspace System (NAS) to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). With the growing use of unmanned systems, NASA has established a multi-center “UAS Integration in the NAS” Project, in collaboration with the FAA and industry, and is guidingits research efforts to look at and examine crucial safety concerns regarding the integration of UAS into the NAS. Key research efforts are addressing requirements for detect-and-avoid (DAA), self-separation (SS), and collision avoidance (CA) technologies. In one of a series of human-in-the-loop experiments, NASA Langley Research Center set up a study known as Collision Avoidance, Self-Separation, and Alerting Times (CASSAT). The First phase assessed active air traffic controller interactions with DAA systems and the second phase examined reactions to the DAA system and displays by UAS Pilots at a simulated ground control station (GCS). Analyses of the test results from Phase I and Phase II are presented in this paper. Results from the CASSAT study and previous human-in-the-loop experiments will play a crucial role in the FAA’s establishment of rules, regulations, and procedures to safely, efficiently, and effectively integrate UAS into the NAS.
Williams, K. (2008). Documentation of Sensory Information in the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-08/23.
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For manned aircraft, the presence of multi-sensory inputs is a given. Pilots of manned aircraft might not even be aware of the availability of several different types of sensory inputs occurring at the same time. However, it is likely that each type of input has a reinforcing effect on the others that allows for a rapid diagnosis and response of both normal and unusual events in the cockpit. The situation for the pilot of an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is much different. UAS pilots receive information regarding the state and health of their aircraft solely through electronic displays. This report includes a comparison of manned sensory information to sensory information available to the unmanned aircraft pilot, a review of remediations for sensory deficiencies from the current UAS inventory, a review of human factors research related to enhancing sensory information available to the UAS pilot, and a review of current FAA regulations related to sensory information requirements. Analyses demonstrated that UAS pilots receive less and fewer types of sensory information, compared with manned aircraft pilots. One consequence is the enhanced difficulty for UAS pilots to recognize and diagnose anomalous flight events that could endanger the safety of the flight. Recommendations include the incorporation of multi-sensory alert and warning systems into UAS control stations.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) Concept of Operations, v2.0 (FAA)-
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The commercial applications and opportunities for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations, particularly at low altitudes, across a myriad of sectors from inspection, to survey, to monitoring, to package delivery, present enormously enticing incentives and business cases for an operating construct that allows for these operations within the regulatory, operational, and technical environment that comprises the National Airspace System(NAS). UAS operational needs and expected benefits are driving public and private stakeholder partnerships, led by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to develop and continually mature Concept of Operations (ConOps) for UAS Traffic Management (UTM).This vision for UAS operations engenders a common desire to realize innovative solutions through public-private partnerships and the leveraging of technologies in support of emerging opportunities while ensuring safety, security, efficiency, and equity of the NAS are maintained to the highest of standards.
Ghatas, R. W., Comstock, J. R., Consiglio, M. C., Chamberlain, J. P., & Hoffler, K. D. (2015). UAS in the NAS Air Traffic Controller Acceptability Study-1: The Effects of Horizontal Miss Distances on Simulated UAS and Manned Aircraft Encounters. 18th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology, 324-329.
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This study examined air traffic controller acceptability ratings based on the effects of differing horizontal miss distances (HMDs) for encounters between UAS and manned aircraft. In a simulation of the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) East-side airspace, the CAS-1 experiment at NASA Langley Research Center enlisted fourteen recently retired DFWair traffic controllers to rate well-clear volumes based on differing HMDs that ranged from 0.5 NM to 3.0 NM. The controllers were tasked with rating these HMDs from “too small” to “too excessive” on a defined, 1-5, scale and whether these distances caused any disruptions to the controller and/or to the surrounding traffic flow. Results of the study indicated a clear favoring towards a particular HMD range. Controller workload was also measured. Data from this experiment and subsequent experiments will play a crucial role in the FAA’s establishment of rules, regulations, and procedures to safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the NAS.
Comstock, J., Ghatas, R., Consiglio, M., Chamberlain, J., Hoffler, K. (2015). UAS Air Traffic Controller Acceptability Study 2: Evaluating Detect and Avoid Technology and Communication Delays in Simulation. NASA/TM–2015-218989.
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This study evaluated the effects of communications delays and winds on air traffic controller ratings of acceptability of horizontal miss distances (HMDs) for encounters between Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and manned aircraft in a simulation of the Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) airspace. Fourteen encounters per hour were staged in the presence of moderate background traffic. Seven recently retired controllers with experience at DFW served as subjects. Guidance provided to the UAS pilots for maintaining a given HMD was provided by information from Detect and Avoid (DAA) self-separation algorithms (Stratway+) displayed on the Multi-Aircraft Control System. This guidance consisted of amber “bands” on the heading scale of the UAS navigation display indicating headings that would result in a loss of well clear between the UAS and nearby traffic. Winds tested were successfully handled by the DAA algorithms and did not affect the controller acceptability ratings of the HMDs. Voice communications delays for the UAS were also tested and included one-way delay times of 0, 400, 1200, and 1800 msec. For longer communications delays, there were changes in strategy and communications flow that were observed and reported by the controllers. The aim of this work is to provide useful information for guiding future rules and regulations applicable to flying UAS in the NAS. Information from this study will also be of value to the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Special Committee 228 – Minimum Performance Standards for UAS.
Williams, K. (2004). A Summary of Unmanned Aircraft Accident/Incident Data: Human Factors Implications. FAA/DOT Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-04/24.
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A review and analysis of unmanned aircraft (UA) accident data was conducted to identify important human factors issues related to their use. UA accident data were collected from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force. Classification of the accident data was a two-step process. In the first step, accidents were classified into the categories of human factors, maintenance, aircraft, and unknown. Accidents could be classified into more than one category. In the second step, those accidents classified as human factors-related were classified according to specific human factors issues of alerts/alarms, display design, procedural error, skill-based error, or other. Classification was based on the stated causal factors in the reports, the opinion of safety center personnel, and personal judgment of the author. The percentage of involvement of human factors issues varied across aircraft from 21% to 68%. For most of the aircraft systems, electromechanical failure was more of a causal factor than human error. One critical finding from an analysis of the data is that each of the fielded systems is very different, leading to different kinds of accidents and different human factors issues. A second finding is that many of the accidents that have occurred could have been anticipated through an analysis of the user interfaces employed and procedures implemented for their use. This paper summarizes the various human factors issues related to the accidents.
Williams, K. (2007). Unmanned Aircraft Pilot Medical Certification Requirements. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-07/3.
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This research study was undertaken to create recommendations for unmanned aircraft pilot medical certification requirements. The effort consisted of the convening of a panel of subject matter experts and interactions with groups engaged in the process of establishing unmanned aircraft pilot guidelines. The results of this effort were a recommendation and justification for use of the second-class medical certification.
Williams, K. (2006). Human Factors Implications of Unmanned Aircraft Accidents: Flight-Control Problems. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-06/.
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This research focuses on three types of flight control problems associated with unmanned aircraft systems. The three flight control problems are: 1) external pilot difficulties with inconsistent mapping of the controls to the movement of the aircraft; 2) difficulties associated with the transfer of control from one control location to another during the flight; and 3) problems associated with the automation of flight control. Specific accidents associated with each type of control problem are given as examples. The accidents involve several different aircraft systems that are currently in use. Solutions for each type of control problem are offered.
Williams, K. (2007). An Assessment of Pilot Control Interfaces for Unmanned Aircraft. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-07/8.
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An inventory of control systems for unmanned aircraft was completed for 15 systems from nine separate manufacturers. To complete the inventory, a taxonomy of control architectures was developed. The taxonomy identified four levels of horizontal aircraft control, four levels of vertical control, and three levels of speed control. The most automated level of control was a waypoint-level that was found to be present in all of the systems inventoried. Implications of these levels of control on design are discussed.
Williams, K., Caddigan, E., Zingale, C. (2018). UAS Pilot Traffic Avoidance Maneuver Preferences, Response Times, and ATC Interaction Decisions, FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-18/16.
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This report is a follow-on analysis of maneuver data, pilot response time data, and air traffic control interaction data that was collected in a research study by Williams, Caddigan, and Zingale (2017). That study was conducted to assist the standards development group, RTCA Special Committee 228, in the establishment of minimum information requirements for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Detect and Avoid (DAA) traffic displays. The research tested four different display configurations. These were a baseline display, and the baseline display with either a closest point of approach (CPA) indication, avoidance area information, or banding information that provided horizontal and vertical vectors to avoid preventing a loss of well clear from an intruder aircraft. Details of that research are provided in Williams et al. (2017).
The follow-on analysis of maneuver data showed that pilots were influenced by the type of display they were using. Both the baseline and CPA displays biased pilots more toward vertical avoidance maneuvers while the avoidance area and banding displays biased pilots toward horizontal avoidance maneuvers. In addition to display type, avoidance maneuvers were influenced by encounter geometry.
Pilots were biased toward vertical maneuvers if ownship was descending at the time of the encounter. They were biased toward horizontal maneuvers if the intruder was climbing or descending. Finally, there was some evidence to suggest that pilots were biased toward vertical maneuvers when the time to closest point of approach to the intruder was less than 60 seconds. The maneuver response time data lend additional support to the use of suggestive maneuver information as part of the minimum information requirements for DAA traffic displays. Again, as was the case with well clear violation data reported in Williams et al. (2017), support was found for both the banding and avoidance area displays when it was shown that pilot maneuver responses were significantly faster using those displays than when using the baseline display. Ramifications of these results for DAA display design are discussed.
Williams, K., Caddigan, E., Zingale, C. (2017). An Investigation of Minimum Information Requirements for an Unmanned Aircraft System Detect and Avoid Traffic Display, FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-17/14.
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A study was conducted to support the development of Minimum Operational Performance Specifications for UAS detect and avoid traffic displays being developed by RTCA Special Committee 228. The study involved over 1,000 traffic encounters across 32 participants. Data collection began January 20th, 2016, and was completed on April 1st, 2016. The experiment tested four different display configurations. A baseline display , an indication of the Closest Point of Approach (CPA) between ownship and an intruder aircraft, avoidance area information indicating areas to avoid preventing a loss of well clear from another aircraft, and a banding information display indicating horizontal and vertical vectors to avoid preventing a loss of well clear. In addition, the experiment also manipulated whether the pilots had UAS experience or were only instrument-rated manned aircraft pilots, and the type of control station interface that was used. The results replicated the findings of other studies showing the benefits of banding information in addition to baseline information for a UAS detect and avoid traffic display. In addition, these benefits were seen across a more varied population of pilots than were looked at in previous studies as well as different control station interface designs than were used in previous studies, thus giving strong support for the decision made by the RTCA SC-228 committee to require banding information as part of the minimum requirements. The study also found strong support for the avoidance area (blob) information. Ramifications of this support are discussed.
Gildea, K., Williams, K., Roberts, C. (2017). A Historical Review of Training Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and Manned Operations (1997-2014). FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-17/15.
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There are several mature Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) training programs available for analysis. Many of these programs were developed by the various branches with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in conjunction with UAS manufacturers. The structures of the existing training programs guided the creation of a general framework with the understanding that training programs might differ depending on variables such as the type, size, and mission of a particular UAS. Many common elements are found across existing DoD training programs and the Practical Test Standards (PTS), oral test, and knowledge test requirements for manned aircraft defined by the FAA under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 61. This document reviewed and capitalized on the knowledge gained by Unmanned Aircraft (UA) pilots through many thousands of hours of operations as reflected in published training procedures. This review follows a structure based on that provided within the FAA PTS documentation, with additions where the specific content of UAS training programs dictates. Each section will discuss the requirements of the various UAS programs and point to general similarities between the manned and UAS training requirements. Knowledge requirements are discussed that are found in the PTS for manned systems and are not discussed in current UAS training documentation but may be applicable to UAS operations in the National Airspace System (NAS).
Williams, K., Gildea, K. (2014). A Review of Research Related to Unmanned Aircraft System Visual Observers. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-14/9.
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This paper is a review of human factors research that is related to the task of the visual observer in unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations. Primarily, visual observers are used to assist in the prevention of a mid-air collision during the course of a UAS operation. Therefore, much of the research reviewed is related to ground-based visual observation of aircraft. The research covers basic human visual system capacity and limitations, visual performance models, and empirical studies of visual observation. The empirical studies include visual observer studies, aircraft see-and-avoid research, and search and rescue operations research.
The results from this research are compared with current visual observer requirements to show where some of the requirements might exceed the capacity of the visual observer to perform adequately. The final section of the document presents recommendations and suggested guidelines for the UAS operations that use visual observers. In addition to their use in avoiding mid-air collisions with aircraft, visual observers can be used to assist the UAS pilot in avoiding difficult to see obstructions such as power lines and guy wires. Observers can also be used to monitor the movements of people and vehicles that might stray too close to an operation. Readers who are not interested in details of the research are encouraged to skip to the guidelines section.
Williams, K. (2012).
An Investigation of Sensory Information, Levels of Automation, and Piloting Experience on Unmanned Aircraft Pilot Performance. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/AM-12/4.
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The current experiment was intended to examine the effect of sensory information on pilot reactions to system failures within a UAS control station simulation. This research also investigated the level of automation used incontrolling the aircraft and the level of manned flight experience of the participants, since these also have been shown to influence pilot effectiveness. While the presence of sound did improve responses to engine failures, it did not improve responses to failures in heading control. The prediction that higher levels of automation would lead to complacency or vigilance decrements was not supported. The finding that pilots, in the manual conditions, flew significantly closer to the flight path than non-pilots was unexpected. The results suggest differences between those with manned aircraft experience and those without, but it is unclear whether these differences are due to manned aircraft training and flight experience or whether other factors, such as personality, may be evident.
Waraich, Q., Mazzuchi, T., Sarkani, S., Rico, D. (2013). Minimizing Human Factors Mishaps in Unmanned Aircraft Systems. In Ergonomics in Design, Volume: 21 issue: 1, page(s): 25-32.
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Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) mishaps attributable to lack of attention to human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) science in their ground control stations (GCSes) are alarmingly high, and UAS-specific HF/E engineering standards are years away from development. The ANSI/HFES 100-2007 human factors standard is proposed as a specification for the design of UASes because of the similarity between general-purpose computer workstations and GCSes. Data were collected from 20 UASes to determine the applicability of commercial standards to GCS designs. Analysis shows that general-purpose computer workstations and UAS GCSes are up to 98% similar. Therefore, our findings suggest that the application of commercial human factors standards may be a good solution for minimizing UAS mishaps.
Cooke, N. (2006). Human Factors of Remotely Operated Vehicles. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Vol 50, Issue 1, 2006.
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From Hurricane Katrina to the war in Iraq and US border security, ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) are taking a front seat. They can do work that is beyond human capabilities or that puts humans in harm's way. However, the fact that there are no humans in the vehicle is misinterpreted by some as no humans in the system. On the contrary, ROVs are complex systems that require much human involvement. There are many human factors issues ranging from remote control and soda straw displays to spatial disorientation and automation. Further, there are significant mishaps with a large portion attributed to human factors issues. This panel will describe the state-of-the art in human factors of ROVs through some examples of research in the area. In addition panelists will interact with the audience and address questions centering on the challenges, the constraints, and the successes of human factors considerations for ROVs.
Hobbs, A. (2015). Human Factors Guidelines for Unmanned Aircraft System Ground Control Stations. Contractor Report prepared for NASA UAS in the NAS Project, September, 2015.
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This preliminary report presents a structure that may be used to organize human factors guidelines for the Ground Control Stations (GCSs) of unmanned aircraft that are capable of operating beyond line-of-sight in all airspace classes of the United States National Airspace System (NAS). The document contains a partial list of draft guidelines, as well as placeholders to indicate where future guidelines may be included.
Thousands of human factors guidelines and standards for technological systems have been published by standards organizations, regulatory authorities, the Department of Defense, and other agencies. In compiling this document, the intent was not to reproduce or re-state existing human factors material. Instead, this document focuses on the unique issues of civilian unmanned aviation, and contains guidelines specific to this sector. As a result, it should be seen as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, existing aviation human factors standards and guidance material.
Two constraints have been used to focus the scope of this document. First, the assumptions contained in the FAA (2013a) UAS roadmap have been used to define the responsibilities that will be assigned to the pilot of a UAS operating in the NAS. This in turn, helps to define the tasks that the UAS pilot must perform via the GCS, and thereby the required features and characteristics of the GCS. Second, the points of difference between UAS and conventional aviation have been used to further focus the guidelines on the considerations that make piloting a UAS significantly different to piloting a conventional aircraft.
Five broad categories of guidelines are identified. These are (1) performance-based descriptions of pilot tasks that must be accomplished via the GCS, (2) information content of displays, (3) descriptions of control inputs, (4) properties of the interface, and (5) high-level design considerations. Some of the guidelines in this document have been adapted from existing UAS human factors material from several sources, including RTCA publications and Standardization agreements (STANAGs) published by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The use of quotation marks indicates that the wording of the guideline remains in its original form. In other cases, guidelines have been developed based on NASA research conducted under the UAS in the NAS project. In a few places, existing aviation standards or general human factors guidelines have been quoted when they have particular relevance to UAS.
Throughout this document, guidelines have been written with the words "should" or "will" except in cases where an existing guideline is quoted that contained a “shall” statement in its original form.
Hobbs, A., Shively, R. (2013). Human Factors Guidelines for UAS in the National Airspace System. Annual meeting of Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Washington, DC.
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The ground control stations (GCS) of some UAS have been characterized by less-than-adequate human-system interfaces. In some cases this may reflect a failure to apply an existing regulation or human factors standard. In other cases, the problems may indicate a lack of suitable guidance material. NASA is leading a community effort to develop recommendations for human factors guidelines for GCS to support routine beyond-line-of-sight UAS operations in the national airspace system (NAS). In contrast to regulations, guidelines are not mandatory requirements. However, by encapsulating solutions to identified problems or areas of risk, guidelines can provide assistance to system developers, users and regulatory agencies. To be effective, guidelines must be relevant to a wide range of systems, must not be overly prescriptive, and must not impose premature standardization on evolving technologies. By assuming that a pilot will be responsible for each UAS operating in the NAS, and that the aircraft will be required to operate in a manner comparable to conventionally piloted aircraft, it is possible to identify a generic set of pilot tasks and the information, control and communication requirements needed to support those tasks. Areas where guidelines will be useful can then be identified, utilizing information from simulations, operational experience and the human factors literature. In developing guidelines, we recognize that existing regulatory and guidance material may already provide adequate coverage of certain issues. In other cases, suitable guide-lines may be found in existing military or industry human factors standards. In cases where appropriate existing standards cannot be identified, original guidelines will be proposed.
Hobbs, A. (2016). Human Factors Guidelines for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. In Ergonomics in Design, 24, 23-28.
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This preliminary report presents a structure that may be used to organize human factors guidelines for the Ground Control Stations (GCSs) of unmanned aircraft that are capable of operating beyond line-of-sight in all airspace classes of the United States National Airspace System (NAS). The document contains a partial list of draft guidelines, as well as placeholders to indicate where future guidelines may be included.
Thousands of human factors guidelines and standards for technological systems have been published by standards organizations, regulatory authorities, the Department of Defense, and other agencies. In compiling this document, the intent was not to reproduce or re-state existing human factors material. Instead, this document focuses on the unique issues of civilian unmanned aviation, and contains guidelines specific to this sector. As a result, it should be seen as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, existing aviation human factors standards and guidance material.
Two constraints have been used to focus the scope of this document. First, the assumptions contained in the FAA (2013a) UAS roadmap have been used to define the responsibilities that will be assigned to the pilot of a UAS operating in the NAS. This in turn, helps to define the tasks that the UAS pilot must perform via the GCS, and thereby the required features and characteristics of the GCS. Second, the points of difference between UAS and conventional aviation have been used to further focus the guidelines on the considerations that make piloting a UAS significantly different to piloting a conventional aircraft.
Five broad categories of guidelines are identified. These are (1) performance-based descriptions of pilot tasks that must be accomplished via the GCS, (2) information content of displays, (3) descriptions of control inputs, (4) properties of the interface, and (5) high-level design considerations. Some of the guidelines in this document have been adapted from existing UAS human factors material from several sources, including RTCA publications and Standardization agreements (STANAGs) published by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The use of quotation marks indicates that the wording of the guideline remains in its original form. In other cases, guidelines have been developed based on NASA research conducted under the UAS in the NAS project. In a few places, existing aviation standards or general human factors guidelines have been quoted when they have particular relevance to UAS.
Throughout this document, guidelines have been written with the words "should" or "will" except in cases where an existing guideline is quoted that contained a “shall” statement in its original form.
Hobbs, A. (2016). Human factors guidelines for remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) remote pilot stations (RPS). Contractor Report prepared for NASA UAS in the NAS Project.
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This document contains a list of human factors guidelines for remote pilot stations (RPS) arranged within an organizing structure. The guidelines are intended for the RPS of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) that are capable of operating beyond visual line-of-sight (VLOS) in all classes of civil airspace.
Numerous human factors guidelines and standards for technological systems have been published by standards organizations and regulatory authorities. In compiling this document, the intent was not to reproduce or restate existing human factors material. Instead, this document focuses on the unique issues of civilian RPAS operations, and contains guidelines specific to this sector. As a result, it should be seen as a supplement to existing aviation human factors standards and guidance material.
Two constraints were used to focus the scope of this document. First, the assumptions contained in the FAA (2013a) roadmap for the integration of unmanned aircraft systems were used to define the responsibilities that will be assigned to the pilot of a RPAS operating beyond VLOS in civil airspace. This in turn helped to define the tasks that the remote pilot must perform via the RPS, and thereby the required features and characteristics of the RPS. Second, the points of difference between RPAS and conventional aviation were used to further focus the guidelines on the considerations that make piloting a RPA significantly different to piloting a conventional aircraft.
Five broad categories of guidelines are identified. These are (1) performance-based descriptions of pilot tasks that must be accomplished via the RPS, (2) information content of displays, (3) descriptions of control inputs, (4) properties of the interface, and (5) general design considerations. Some of the guidelines in this document have been adapted from existing RPAS human factors material from several sources, including RTCA publications and Standardization Agreements (STANAGs) published by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The use of quotation marks indicates that the wording of the guideline remains in its original form. In other cases, guidelines have been developed based on research conducted under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) UAS in the NAS project. In a few places, existing aviation standards or general human factors guidelines have been quoted when they have particular relevance to RPAS.
Throughout this document, guidelines have been written with the words "should" or "will" except in cases where an existing guideline is quoted that contained a "shall" statement in its original form
Ahlstrom, V., Longo, K. Human Factors Design Standard. Atlantic City International Airport, NJ: Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center.
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This document was developed as a comprehensive reference tool to help FAA and contractor human factors professionals carry out FAA human factors policy. It consolidates human factors knowledge, practice, and prior experience into requirements for application to new systems and equipment. It was conceived as a “living document” to be revised as new information became available. Aside from revisions to individual chapters, this document represents the first major revision of HF-STD-001since its release in 2003. This document compiles extensive guidance from diverse sources for human factors applications integral to the procurement, acquisition, design, development, and testing of FAA systems, facilities, and equipment. It will aid in identifying functional, product, and NAS specification requirements and in ensuring acceptable human factors practice and products. This standard is applicable to COTS and NDI procurements as well as new developmental system or equipment acquisitions. The relationship between hardware and software subsystems and the human subsystem's characteristics must be determined and tested in advance of commitments to procure and implement COTS and NDI equipment and systems. These characteristics can include human roles, organizations, interfaces, tasks, training, and human performance effectiveness. This standard draws heavily from human factors information published by other government organizations, including the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Department of Energy. The FAA recognizes the excellent quality of information found in many of the technical documents and handbooks written by these agencies.
Hobbs, A. (2017). Remotely Piloted Aircraft. In S. Landry (Ed.), Handbook of Human Factors in Air Transportation Systems (pp 379-395). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
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Remotely piloted (or unmanned) aircraft are rapidly emerging as a new sector of civil aviation. As regulatory agencies work to integrate these aircraft into the existing aviation system, they must contend with a unique set of human factors that are not yet fully identified or understood.
Manual on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). ICAO- International Civil Aviation Organization.
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Remotely piloted aircraft are one type of unmanned aircraft.1 All unmanned aircraft, whether remotely piloted, fully autonomous or combinations thereof, are subject to the provisions of Article 8 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Doc 7300), signed at Chicago on 7 December 1944 and amended by the ICAO Assembly.
This chapter addresses the history and the foundations of the legal framework as well as the purpose and scope of this manual.
Kaliardos, B. and Lyall, B. (2014). Human factors of unmanned aircraft system integration in the national airspace system. In K.P. Valavanis, G.J. Vachtsevanos (eds.), Handbook of unmanned aerial vehicles (pp. 2135-2158). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. (This link is provided for informational purposes only. A fee may be required to access the article. NASA does not endorse this website or its products.)
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The purpose of this chapter is to identify human factors challenges to integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) in the National Airspace System (NAS), for both pilots and air traffic controllers. The method for identifying these challenges was primarily based on the differences or "gaps" between manned aircraft in the NAS today and the unique aspects of UASs. The goal is not to generate a comprehensive list of human factors issues, but to focus on those that are traceable to fundamental characteristics of UASs (primarily due to the UAS pilot being physically remote from the aircraft) and that are also considered challenging with respect to the current NAS and its regulatory framework.
Cummings, M., Mastracchio, C., Thornburg, K., Mkrtchyan, A. (2013). Boredom and Distraction in Multiple Unmanned Vehicle Supervisory Control. Interacting with Computers, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 34-47, 2013.
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Operators currently controlling Unmanned Aerial Vehicles report significant boredom, and such systems will likely become more automated in the future. Similar problems are found in process control, commercial aviation, and medical settings. To examine the effect of boredom in such settings, a long duration low task load experiment was conducted. Three low task load levels requiring operator input every 10, 20, or 30 minutes were tested in a our-hour study using a multiple unmanned vehicle simulation environment that leverages decentralized algorithms for sometimes imperfect vehicle scheduling. Reaction times to system-generated events generally decreased across the four hours, as did participants’ ability to maintain directed attention. Overall, participants spent almost half of the time in a distracted state. The top performer spent the majority of time in directed and divided attention states. Unexpectedly, the second-best participant, only 1% worse than the top performer, was distracted almost one third of the experiment, but exhibited a periodic switching strategy, allowing him to pay just enough attention to assist the automation when needed. Indeed, four of the five top performers were distracted more than one-third of the time. These findings suggest that distraction due to boring, low task load environments can be effectively managed through efficient attention switching. Future work is needed to determine optimal frequency and duration of attention state switches given various exogenous attributes, as well as individual variability. These findings have implications for the design of and personnel selection for supervisory control systems where operators monitor highly automated systems for long durations with only occasional or rare input.
Marques, M. (2013). Standard Interfaces of UAV Control System (UCS) for NATO UAV Interoperability. NATO Publication STO-EN-SCI-271.
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are changing the way military and civil operations are carried out. New types of vehicles, from different providers, each with its own specifications and characteristics, are continuously being developed. This diversity leads to an increased level of difficulty in terms of interoperability. The objective of STANAG 4586 is to specify the interfaces that shall be implemented in order to achieve the required Level of Interoperability (LOI) between different UAV systems, so as to meet the requirements of the concept of operations (CONOPS) defined by NATO countries. STANAG 4586 establishes a functional architecture for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Control Systems (UCS) with the following elements and interfaces: Air Vehicle (AV), Vehicle Specific Module (VSM), Data Link Interface (DLI), Core UCS (CUCS), Command and Control Interface (CCI), Human Computer Interface (HCI), and Command and Control Interface Specific Module (CCISM). Besides STANAG 4586, there are already a number of existing or emerging Standardization Agreements (STANAGs) that are applicable to UAV´s. They provide standards for interoperable data link (STANAG 7085), digital sensor data between the payload and the UAV element of the data link (STANAG 7023, 4545, 4607, and 4609), and for on-board recording device(s) (STANAG 7024 and 4575). Although not providing a complete solution for interoperability, STANAG 4586 is certainly a crucial step taken in that direction, providing a roadmap for future developments.
Pestana, M. (2011). NASA MQ-9 Ikhana Human Factors: A Pilot's Perspective. Proceedings of Infotech at Aerospace 2011; March 29, 2011 - March 31, 2011; St. Louis, MO; United States.
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is pioneering various Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) technologies and procedures which may enable routine access to the National Airspace System (NAS), with an aim for Next Gen NAS. These tools will aid in the development of technologies and integrated capabilities that will enable high value missions for science, security, and defense, and open the door to low-cost, extreme-duration, stratospheric flight. A century of aviation evolution has resulted in accepted standards and best practices in the design of human-machine interfaces, the displays and controls of which serve to optimize safe and efficient flight operations and situational awareness. The current proliferation of non-standard, aircraft-specific flight crew interfaces in UAS, coupled with the inherent limitations of operating UAS without in-situ sensory input and feedback (aural, visual, and vestibular cues), has increased the risk of mishaps associated with the design of the "cockpit." The examples of current non- or sub- standard design features range from "annoying" and "inefficient", to those that are difficult to manipulate or interpret in a timely manner, as well as to those that are "burdensome" and "unsafe." A concerted effort is required to establish best practices and standards for the human-machine interfaces, for the pilot as well as the air traffic controller. In addition, roles, responsibilities, knowledge, and skill sets are subject to redefining the terms, "pilot" and "air traffic controller", with respect to operating UAS, especially in the Next-Gen NAS. The knowledge, skill sets, training, and qualification standards for UAS operations must be established, and reflect the aircraft-specific human-machine interfaces and control methods. NASA s recent experiences flying its MQ-9 Ikhana in the NAS for extended duration, has enabled both NASA and the FAA to realize the full potential for UAS, as well as understand the implications of current limitations. Ikhana is a Predator-B/Reaper UAS, built by General Atomics, Aeronautical Systems, Inc., and modified for research. Since 2007, the aircraft has been flown seasonally with a wing-mounted pod containing an infrared scanner, utilized to provide real-time wildfire geo-location data to various fire-fighting agencies in the western U.S. The multi-agency effort included an extensive process to obtain flight clearance from the FAA to operate under special provisions, given that UAS in general do not fully comply with current airspace regulations (e.g. sense-and-avoid requirements).
McCarley, J., Wickens, C. Human Factors Concerns in UAV Flight. Institute of Aviation, Aviation Human Factors Division University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Unmanned aerial vehicles have potential to serve a range of applications of civil airspace. The UAV operator’s task, however, is different from and in some ways more difficult than the task of piloting a manned aircraft. Standards and regulations for unmanned flight in the national airspace must therefore pay particular attention to human factors in UAV operation. The present work discusses a number of human factors issues related to UAV flight, briefly reviews existing relevant empirical data, and suggests topics for future research.
Gale, J., Karasinki, J., Hillenius, S. (2018). Playbook for UAS: UX of Goal-Oriented Planning and Execution. In: Harris D. (eds) Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics. EPCE 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 10906. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91122-9_44
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We are evaluating Playbook for CASAS (Connected AutonomousSmart Aerospace Systems), a tool designed to aid first responders in disaster relief efforts. We are adapting an existing tool, Playbook, to support a future unmanned aircraft system (UAS) swarm demonstration. Playbook for CASAS will be used to plan, edit, and monitor simulated UAS swarms, and we are interested in evaluating the user experience of this prototype as well as developing recommendations for future UAS interfaces. Allocation of roles and responsibilities between human-automation systems is key to promoting productive cooperation between users and automation. Future interfaces, however, must allow for adaptive management of the swarm not a constant split in human-automation control. Our early research indicates that when a single pilot is controlling swarms of robotic agents, such as UAS or ground rovers, operators require a higher level, goal-based interface with usability at its core. Along with that high-level control, users can leverage sensors within the swarm to be notified when lower level actions must be taken by the pilot. First responders working in disaster relief efforts require a high level of situational awareness (SA) and precise control at key moments within a mission. This balance in operator workload paired with SA can lead to improved safety and mission outcomes. Our research below outlines leverage points as well as the balance between human involvement and autonomy in UAS interfaces.
Chin, C., Gopalakrishnan, K., Balakrishnan, H., Egorov, M., Evans, A. (2018). Tradeoffs between Efficiency and Fairness in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management. Proceedings of 2020 International Conference for Research in Air Transportation (ICRAT), September 15, 2020.
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The growing use of drones and other Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is expected to make airspace resources more congested, necessitating the use of UAS Traffic Management (UTM) initiatives to ensure safe and efficient operations. The core functions of UTM are to prevent the loss of airborne separation and to mitigate congestion at departure or arrival points. These functions can be achieved through revising the schedule by assigning airborne delays (speed changes or path stretches) or ground delays (delayed takeoff times) to aircraft. Our work evaluates the fairness aspects of delay assignment while attempting to achieve more efficient UTM. Dynamic and high traffic demand, variability in UAS operators’ preferences, and differences in vehicle capabilities can adversely impact the fairness of the revised schedule. We show through computational experiments that, for certain fairness metrics, significant improvements in fairness can be attained with very little decrease in system efficiency. We also quantify the tradeoff between efficiency and fairness under dynamic demand, when trajectories are incorporated in a rolling horizon framework.
Rios, J., Aweiss, A., Jung, J., Homola, J., Johnson, M., Johnson, R. (2020). Flight Demonstration of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) at Technical Capability Level 4. AIAA Aviation 2020 - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
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The NASA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) Project executed the fourth and final UTM Technical Capability Level demonstration between May and August 2019. Two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-designated UAS test sites managed the range, partners, and operations to meet the requirements set forth by the UTM Project. All stakeholders supported the execution of the flight testing through close collaboration. Results of the demonstration indicate the viability of the UTM concept to manage large scale operations and contingencies in an urban environment. The demonstration also provided insight into key technological gaps that must be addressed before such operations are routine, safe, and efficient. Standardization efforts related to UTM and the industry participants of those efforts can leverage the results and experiences of this flight activity to accelerate and more firmly ground forthcoming standards. The FAA and other regulators will be able to leverage results to inform future rule-making and identify additional gaps that require further analysis.
Rios, J., Homola, J., Craven, N., Verma, P., Baskaran, V.(2020). Strategic Deconfliction Performance: Results and Analysis from the NASA UTM Technical Capability Level 4 Demonstration. NASA/TM-20205006337.
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Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) refers to the service-based, cooperative approach to the management of small UAS in the National Airspace System that is safe, scalable, and fair. UTM provides the means to manage the airspace in a complementary manner that does not burden the current air traffic control workforce or infrastructure but allows the Air Navigation Service Provider to maintain its regulatory and operational authority of the airspace.
A key feature of UTM is the ability to provide operators the means to strategically deconflict operations from others in the airspace through the digital exchange of information via supporting services. Through this approach, the four-dimensional operation volumes that encompass the intent of operators in a given area are discoverable and can be used for airspace awareness as well as planning conflict free operations that account for and avoid other operations. In certain cases, it is also possible to negotiate volume intersections for shared airspace use without the need to re-plan.
In the NASA UTM concept, strategic deconfliction is the first layer of three in the overall conflict management model. The three layers of the conflict management model, which follow the International Civil Aviation Organization’s scheme [ICAO 2005] are: strategic conflict management, separate provision, and collision avoidance. In UTM, the strategic layer mostly occurs prior to departure, but is applicable to en route operations with sufficient planning horizon. The initial requirements for a strategic deconfliction capability within UTM are defined in a NASA publication [Rios 2018].
Within the concept and implementation of service-provided strategic deconfliction is the notion of priority. It is understood that there are instances in which an operation requires a priority designation within the UTM system and special handling accordingly to provide situation awareness and facilitate appropriate responses from other airspace users. Examples of situations requiring priority designation include: when an operator declares an emergency due to problems with the vehicle or its immediate surroundings; operations that are in support of certain organizations (e.g., public safety and first responders); or special missions that also require priority use of airspace (e.g., emergency medical deliveries).
UAS Volume Reservations (UVRs) also relate to the topic of priority in the sense that the airspace that the volume encompasses has a different status or classification in which unassociated operations must vacate if inside, or avoid if outside, through strategic deconfliction with the volume. Operations that are specially permitted to access the UVR area are typically assigned priority status given the nature of their mission and their associated credentials.
The ability to perform strategic deconfliction, handle certain operations with a priority distinction, and establish UVRs that are communicated throughout the UTM system, is predicated on an architecture that has been established through an evolutionary process in response to close collaboration with stakeholders from government and industry. Another important and influential aspect of these capabilities and architecture is the live, distributed flight tests that have been conducted across the Technical Capability Levels (TCLs) that culminated with a set of complex tests performed as part of TCL4 [Rios 2020]. The TCL4 flight test involved two FAA-designated UAS test sites building teams to collaborate with NASA's UTM Project on the execution of several detailed, small UAS scenarios in urban environments.
Wolter, C., Martin, L., Jobe, K. (2020). Human-system interaction issues and proposed solutions to promote successful maturation of the UTM system. Proceedings of the 39th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC). October 13-16, 2020, San Antonio, TX.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Over five years, NASA, together with partnering organizations, has been developing and successfully demonstrating the maturing capabilities of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system and its ability to support communication and coordination among small UAS operations through a series of flight tests. During these flight tests, human-system interaction (HSI) elements were also explored in order to identify the barriers to implementation as human operators transitionally fulfill roles that will be ultimately tasked to future automation. Throughout the tests, similar issues were regularly documented and are expected to persist if not formally addressed by consistent procedures, intuitive design, or regulation. Documented here, along with suggested mitigations, are the most frequently noted HSI items, which include operator training, data standardization, and information quality.
Martin, L., Wolter, C., Jobe, K., Manzano, M., Blandin, S., Cencetti, M., Claudatos, L., Mercer, J., Homola, J. (2020). TCL4 UTM (UAS Traffic Management) Nevada 2019 Flight Tests, Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) Report. NASA/TM-2020-5003361.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) research project has been developing and testing concept ideas for enabling small UAS (sUAS) operations in low-altitude airspace (ground to 400 feet). To do this, NASA has organized a series of flight test demonstrations. Technical Capability Level-4 (TCL4) flight tests were conducted at a Nevada, USA test site, during June 2019 and a Texas test site during August. The Nevada testing resulted in over 300 data collection flights using eight live rotorcraft, 15 simulated vehicles, involving six flight crews, and five UAS Service Suppliers (USS). The TCL4 approach was designed to demonstrate five scenarios that set up five diverse sets of UAS events and activities. The Nevada test site focused on three of these scenarios: an incoming weather front, a concert event with an incident requiring an emergency response, and a scenario where multiple sUAS vehicles experienced Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) issues. Each of the three scenarios run at the Nevada test site consisted of three phases. Each phase was executed three times, creating a total of nine missions per UAS scenario. This document presents data collected from participants during the TCL4-Nevada June flight test that provides information about how much and how well operators were able to make use of UTM functions and information, with the goal of exploring minimum information requirements and/or best practices in TCL4 operations. The driving enquiry was: how do UTM tools and features support (human) operators leading to safe and effective conduct of large-scale, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) sUAS operations in "urban canyon" environments? As with the data collected during previous similar tests (e.g., TCL3, Martin, et al., 2019), the quality of the UTM information exchanged, and the meaningfulness, and therefore usefulness, of this information, were all focal points of the questions asked and the data collected. The results aligned with five human-system attributes to indicate that UTM provided information that contributed to users' ability to operate safely and effectively within UTM operations, but that information was not always complete and was sometimes unclear to the operators.
Martin, L., Wolter, C., Jobe, K., Goodyear, M., Manzano, M., Cencetti, M., Mercer, J., Homola, J. (2020). TCL4 UTM (UAS Traffic Management) Texas 2019 Flight Tests, Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) Report. NASA/TM-2020-220516.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) concept combines airspace
design, flight rules, operational procedures, ground-based systems and vehicle capabilities to enable
safe and efficient use of airspace by small UAS (sUAS). As part of NASA’s UTM research effort
(Kopardekar, et al., 2016), five sets of flight tests were conducted over five years, demonstrating
Technical Capability Levels (TCLs) with different environment complexities, airspace constraints,
and operation objectives. As an example of these TCL differences, early (TCL1) flight tests focused
on a single sUAS flying in restriction-free airspace, within sight of the operator and over unpopulated
open space (Johnson, et al., 2017). Later, the Technical Capability Level 4 (TCL4) flight tests
demonstrated multiple sUAS operations encountering constraints and airspace restrictions in a densely
populated downtown location and also showcased more complex UAS Service Supplier (USS)
functionality than previous TCL tests.
The high density and fast pace of urban arenas (see FAA, 2018 or Kopardekar, et al., 2016 for
descriptions of the UTM concept) impose more demands on the user to fly safely and efficiently and
highlight the need for precise maneuvering and the almost constant need to avoid obstacles. To
support operators, UTM information, primarily gained through USSs but also through Supplemental
Data Service Providers (SDSPs) and potentially other portals (e.g., remote identification (RID)
situation awareness tools), needs to be easily usable in a human factors sense – that is, it must be clear,
concise, consistent, understandable, and straightforward (Krug, 2014). If a system provides users with
adequate information, then those users should report being comfortable with their awareness and
decisiveness within the system.
Approaching the TCL4 demonstration from the perspective of the user, with the goal of instructing
what the minimum information best practices might be, the driving inquiry was: "How do UTM tools
and features support (human) operators leading to safe and effective conduct of large-scale beyond
visual line of sight sUAS operations in "urban canyon" environments?" This overarching theme
focused the feedback from flight crews around the properties of many essential UTM information
exchanges. These research drivers were overlaid onto the NASA statement of work scenarios to
develop a set of questions to UAS and USS operators. Two test sites were chosen to conduct
demonstrations: Lone Star Center for Excellence and Innovation (LSUASC), a Texas A&M
University organization based in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous
Systems based in Las Vegas, Nevada. For readability, the current report examines the Lone Star TCL4
flight demonstration in Texas only (see Martin, et al., 2020, for the results from the NIAS, Nevada test
site)..
NASA Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) Publications.
NASA Human Systems Integration Division's Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) Research Page.
- Single Pilot Operations/Reduced Crew Operations (Click to View/Collapse)
Lachter, J., Battiste, V., Matessa, M., Dao, Q. V., Koteskey, R. & Johnson, W. W. (2014). Toward single pilot operations: the impact of the loss of non-verbal communication on the flight deck (p. 29). Presented at the Proceedings of the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in Aerospace, ACM.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Since the 1950s, the crew required to fly transport category aircraft has been reduced from five to two. NASA is currently exploring the feasibility of a further reduction to one pilot. In this study we examine the effects of separating the pilots on crew interaction. The results are consistent with earlier research on decision-making between remote groups. Pilots strongly prefer face-to-face interactions; however, we could find no impact of separation on their ultimate decisions. There were a number of areas in which separation negatively affected communications. We discuss possible mitigations for these areas.
Shively, R. J., Brandt, S. L., Lachter, J., Matessa, M., Sadler, G., & Battiste, H. (2016, July). Application of Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT) Patterns to Reduced Crew Operations (RCO). In International Conference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics (pp. 244-255). Springer International Publishing.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Unmanned aerial systems, advanced cockpits, and air traffic management are all seeing dramatic increases in automation. However, while automation may take on some tasks previously performed by humans, humans will still be required to remain in the system for the foreseeable future. The collaboration between humans and these increasingly autonomous systems will begin to resemble cooperation between teammates, rather than simple task allocation. It is critical to understand this human-autonomy teaming (HAT) to optimize these systems in the future. One methodology to understand HAT is by identifying recurring patterns of HAT that have similar characteristics and solutions. This paper applies a methodology for identifying HAT patterns to an advanced cockpit project.
Ligda, S. V., Fischer, U., Mosier, K., Matessa, M., Battiste, V. & Johnson, W. W. (2015). Effectiveness of Advanced Collaboration Tools on Crew Communication in Reduced Crew Operations. In Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics (pp. 416–427). Springer International Publishing.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The present research examines operational performance and verbal communication in airline flight crews under reduced crew operations (RCO). Eighteen two-pilot crews flew six scenarios under three conditions; one condition involved current-day operations while two involved RCO. In RCO flights, the Captain initially operated the simulated aircraft alone but could request remote crewmember support as off-nominal events occurred and workload was expected to increase. In one of the two RCO conditions, crewmembers were provided with advanced prototype collaboration tools designed to alleviate difficulties in crew coordination. Crews successfully solved all challenging events without accident and analyses of operational performance did not reveal any differences among the three conditions. In RCO flights, crew communication increased when tools were available relative to flights in which they were not; specifically, there were more acknowledgements and decision-making communications. These results suggest the collaboration tools enable higher degrees of crewmember awareness and/or coordination during distributed operations.
Sadler, G., Battiste, H., Ho, N., Hoffmann, L., Johnson, W., Shively, R., ... & Smith, D. (2016, September). Effects of transparency on pilot trust and agreement in the autonomous constrained flight planner. In 2016 IEEE/AIAA 35th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
We performed a human-in-the-loop study to explore the role of transparency in engendering trust and reliance within highly automated systems. Specifically, we examined how transparency impacts trust in and reliance upon the Autonomous Constrained Flight Planner (ACFP), a critical automated system being developed as part of NASA's Reduced Crew Operations (RCO) Concept. The ACFP is designed to provide an enhanced ground operator, termed a super dispatcher, with recommended diversions for aircraft when their primary destinations are unavailable. In the current study, 12 commercial transport rated pilots who played the role of super dispatchers were given six time-pressured “all land” scenarios where they needed to use the ACFP to determine diversions for multiple aircraft. Two factors were manipulated. The primary factor was level of transparency. In low transparency scenarios the pilots were given a recommended airport and runway, plus basic information about the weather conditions, the aircraft types, and the airport and runway characteristics at that and other airports. In moderate transparency scenarios the pilots were also given a risk evaluation for the recommended airport, and for the other airports if they requested it. In the high transparency scenario additional information including the reasoning for the risk evaluations was made available to the pilots.
The secondary factor was level of risk, either high or low. For high-risk aircraft, all potential diversions were rated as highly risky, with the ACFP giving the best option for a bad situation. For low-risk aircraft the ACFP found only low-risk options for the pilot. Both subjective and objective measures were collected, including rated trust, whether the pilots checked the validity of the automation recommendation, and whether the pilots eventually flew to the recommended diversion airport. Key results show that: 1) Pilots' trust increased with higher levels of transparency, 2) Pilots were more likely to verify ACFP's recommendations with low levels of transparency and when risk was high, 3) Pilots were more likely to explore other options from the ACFP in low transparency conditions and when risk was high, and 4) Pilots' decision to accept or reject ACFP's recommendations increased as a function of the transparency in the explanation. The finding that higher levels of transparency was coupled with higher levels of trust, a lower need to verify other options, and higher levels of agreement with ACFP recommendations, confirms the importance of transparency in aiding reliance on automated recommendations. Additional analyses of qualitative data gathered from subjects through surveys and during debriefing interviews also provided the basis for new design recommendations for the ACFP.
Comerford, D., Brandt, S. L., Lachter, J., Wu, S. C., Mogford, R., Battiste, V., & Johnson, W. W. (2013). NASA's single-pilot operations technical interchange meeting: Proceedings and findings (NASA/CP-2013-216513). Moffett Field, CA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center are jointly investigating issues associated with potential concepts, or configurations, in which a single pilot might operate under conditions that are currently reserved for a minimum of two pilots. As part of early efforts, NASA Ames Research Center hosted a technical interchange meeting in order to gain insight from members of the aviation community regarding single-pilot operations (SPO). The meeting was held on April 10-12, 2012 at NASA Ames Research Center. Professionals in the aviation domain were invited because their areas of expertise were deemed to be directly related to an exploration of SPO. NASA, in selecting prospective participants, attempted to represent various relevant sectors within the aviation domain. Approximately 70 people representing government, academia, and industry attended. A primary focus of this gathering was to consider how tasks and responsibilities might be re-allocated to allow for SPO.
Johnson, W., Lachter, J., Feary, M., Comerford, D., Battiste, V., & Mogford, R. (2012). Task allocation for single pilot operations: A role for the ground. HCI Aero 2012.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Researchers at the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly investigating issues associated with an environment in which a single pilot, or reduced crew, might operate transport category aircraft. In this paper we initially, and very briefly, summarize selected findings of a technical interchange meeting (TIM) coordinated and hosted by NASA. This meeting of a cross section of the aviation community addressed issues involved with a move from two pilot to single pilot operations for transport category aircraft. Following this, and based in part on these findings, we espouse a position that such an endeavor will require development of air-ground teaming, where a ground-based operator will have to be able to support many of the traditional roles of the copilot.
Bilimoria, K. D., Johnson, W. W. & Schutte, P. C. (2014). Conceptual framework for single pilot operations (p. 4). Proceedings of the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in Aerospace, ACM.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Single pilot operations (SPO) refers to flying a commercial aircraft with only one pilot in the cockpit, assisted by advanced onboard automation and/or ground operators providing piloting support services. Properly implemented, SPO could provide operating cost savings while maintaining a level of safety no less than conventional two-pilot commercial operations. A concept of operations (ConOps) for any paradigm describes the characteristics of its various components and their integration in a multi-dimensional design space. This paper presents key options for human/automation function allocation being considered by NASA in its ongoing development of a SPO ConOps.
Brandt, S. L., Lachter, J., Battiste, V. & Johnson, W. (2015). Pilot Situation Awareness and its Implications for Single Pilot Operations: Analysis of a Human-in-the-Loop Study. Procedia Manufacturing, 3, 3017–3024.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
In 2012, NASA began exploring the feasibility of single pilot/reduced crew operations in the context of scheduled air carrier operations. The current study examined how important it was for ground-based personnel providing support to single piloted aircraft (ground operators) to have opportunities to acquire situation awareness (SA) prior to being called on to assist an aircraft. We looked at two distinct concepts of operation, which varied in how much information was available to ground operators prior to being called on to assist a critical event (no vs. some Situation Preview). Thirty-five commercial pilots participated in the current study. Results suggested that a ground operators’ lack of initial SA when called on for dedicated assistance is not an issue, at least when the ground operator station displays environmental and systems data which are important to gaining overall SA of the specified aircraft. With appropriate displays, ground operators were able to provide immediate assistance, even if they had minimal SA prior to getting a request.
Dao, A.-Q. V., Koltai, K., Cals, S. D., Brandt, S. L., Lachter, J., Matessa, M., Smith, D. E., Battiste, V. & Johnson, W. W. (2015). Evaluation of a recommender system for single pilot operations. Procedia Manufacturing, 3, 3070–3077.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
This paper discusses the quality of a recommender system implemented in a simulation to assist with choosing a diversionary airport for distressed aircraft. In the third of the series of studies investigating the feasibility of ground-supported single pilot operations (SPO) a recommender system was used by 35 airline pilots as an aid for selecting diversionary airports. These pilots, acting as ground operators, used the recommender system from a ground station when off-nominal events required them to provide ground support to a single piloted aircraft. The unique circumstances imposed by each of the scenarios required the ground operators, together with the recommender system, to consider the relative importance of different factors when recommending an airport. Post-trial questionnaires were used to evaluate the recommender system. Results indicated that the pilots did not find the recommender system very transparent and did not always trust its initial recommendation. However, pilots did appear to find the recommender system to be effective in supporting them with the high workload in off nominal situations, and interactions with the system appear to have been satisfactory. Pilots also reported in post simulation surveys a desire to have better explanations for those recommendations. Findings will inform the development of future iterations of the recommender system, as well as influence SPO procedures and further development of a prototype ground station.
Lachter, J., Brandt, S. L., Battiste, V., Ligda, S. V., Matessa, M. & Johnson, W. W. (2014). Toward single pilot operations: developing a ground station (p. 19). Presented at the Proceedings of the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in Aerospace, ACM.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
This document describes the second human-in-the-loop study in a series that examines the role of a ground operator in enabling single pilot operations (SPO). The focus of this study was decision-making and communication between a distributed crew (airborne pilot and ground operator). A prototype ground station and tools designed to enhance collaboration were also assessed for further development. Eighteen crews flew challenging, off-nominal scenarios in three configurations: Baseline (current two-pilot operations) and SPO with and without Collaboration Tools. Subjective ratings were largely favorable to SPO; however, there was preference for the Baseline configuration. Crew comments suggest improvements to increase the usability of the collaboration tools.
Vu, K. P. L., Lachter, J., Battiste, V., & Strybel, T. Z. (2018). Single pilot operations in domestic commercial aviation. Human Factors, 60(6), 755-762.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Objective: To provide an overview of concepts of operation for single pilot operations (SPO) and a synthesis of recently published work evaluating these concepts.
Background: Advances in technology have made it possible for a commercial aircraft to be flown by a single pilot under normal conditions, and research is being conducted to examine the feasibility of implementing SPO for commercial aviation.
Method: Context leading up to the consideration of SPO for commercial flight is provided, including the benefits and challenges. Recent studies examining issues relating to automation, operations, and communications in the SPO context are presented.
Results: A number of concepts have been proposed and tested for SPO, and no one concept has been shown to be superior. Single pilots were able to successfully resolve off-nominal scenarios with either the ground support or cockpit-automation tools examined. However, the technologies developed in support of these concepts are in prototype forms and need further development.
Conclusion: There have been no obvious “show stoppers” for moving toward SPO. However, the current state of research is in its initial stages, and more research is needed to examine other challenges associated with SPO. Moreover, human factors researchers must continue to be involved in the development of the new tools and technologies to support SPO to ensure their effectiveness.
Application: The research issues highlighted in the context of SPO reflect issues that are associated with the process of reducing crew members or providing remote support of operators and, more generally, human interactions with increasingly autonomous systems.
O’Connor, R., Roberts, Z., Ziccardi, J., Koteskey, R., Lachter, J., Dao, Q., Johnson, W.,Battiste, V., Vu, K-P. L. & Strybel, T. Z. (2013). Pre-study walkthrough with a commercial pilot for a preliminary single pilot operations experiment. In Human Interface and the Management of Information. Information and Interaction for Health, Safety, Mobility and Complex Environments (pp. 136–142). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The number of crew members in commercial flights has decreased to two members, down from the five-member crew required 50 years ago. One question of interest is whether the crew should be reduced to one pilot. In order to determine the critical factors involved in safely transitioning to a single pilot, research must examine whether any performance deficits arise with the loss of a crew member. With a concrete understanding of the cognitive and behavioral role of a co-pilot, aeronautical technologies and procedures can be developed that make up for the removal of the second aircrew member. The current project describes a pre-study walkthrough process that can be used to help in the development of scenarios for testing future concepts and technologies for single pilot operations. Qualitative information regarding the tasks performed by the pilots can be extracted with this technique and adapted for future investigations of single pilot operations.
Ho, N., Johnson, W., Panesar, K., Wakeland, K., Sadler, G., Wilson, N., Brandt, S. (2017, September). Application of human-autonomy teaming to an advanced ground station for reduced crew operations. In 2017 IEEE/AIAA 36th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Within human factors there is burgeoning interest in the “human-autonomy teaming” (HAT) concept as a way to address the challenges of interacting with complex, increasingly autonomous systems. The HAT concept comes out of an aspiration to interact with increasingly autonomous systems as a team member, rather than simply use automation as a tool. The authors, and others, have proposed core tenets for HAT that include bi-directional communication, automation and system transparency, and advanced coordination between human and automated teammates via predefined, dynamic task sequences known as “plays.” It is believed that, with proper implementation, HAT should foster appropriate teamwork, thus increasing trust and reliance on the system, which in turn will reduce workload, increase situation awareness, and improve performance. To this end, HAT has been demonstrated and/or studied in multiple applications including search and rescue operations, healthcare and medicine, autonomous vehicles, photography, and aviation. The current paper presents one such effort to apply HAT. It details the design of a HAT agent, developed by Human Automation Teaming Solutions, Inc., to facilitate teamwork between the automation and the human operator of an advanced ground dispatch station.
This dispatch station was developed to support a NASA project investigating a concept called Reduced Crew Operations (RCO); consequently, we have named the agent R-HATS. Part of the RCO concept involves a ground operator providing enhanced support to a large number of aircraft with a single pilot on the flight deck. When assisted by R-HATS, operators can monitor and support or manage a large number of aircraft and use plays to respond in real-time to complicated, workload-intensive events (e.g., an airport closure). A play is a plan that encapsulates goals, tasks, and a task allocation strategy appropriate for a particular situation. In the current implementation, when a play is initiated by a user, R-HATS determines what tasks need to be completed and has the ability to autonomously execute them (e.g., determining diversion options and uplinking new routes to aircraft) when it is safe and appropriate. R-HATS has been designed to both support end users and researchers in RCO and HAT. Additionally, R-HATS and its underlying architecture were developed with generalizability in mind as a modular software applicable outside of RCO/aviation domains. This paper will also discuss future further development and testing of R-HATS.
Brandt, S. L., Lachter, J., Russell, R., & Shively, R. J. (2017, July). A human-autonomy teaming approach for a flight-following task. In International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (pp. 12-22). Springer, Cham.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Human involvement with increasingly autonomous systems must adjust to allow for a more dynamic relationship involving cooperation and teamwork. As part of an ongoing project to develop a framework for human-autonomy teaming (HAT) in aviation, a study was conducted to evaluate proposed tenets of HAT. Participants performed a flight-following task at a ground station both with and without HAT features enabled. Overall, participants preferred the ground station with HAT features enabled over the station without the HAT features. Participants reported that the HAT displays and automation were preferred for keeping up with operationally important issues. Additionally, participants reported that the HAT displays and automation provided enough situation awareness to complete the task, reduced the necessary workload and were efficient. Overall, there was general agreement that HAT features supported teaming with the automation. These results will be used to refine and expand our proposed framework for human-autonomy teaming.
Liu, J., Gardi, A., Ramasamy, S., Lim, Y. (2016). Cognitive Pilot-Aircraft Interface for Single-Pilot Operations. Knowledge-Based Systems 112:37-53.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Considering the foreseen expansion of the air transportation system within the next two decades and the opportunities offered by higher levels of automation, Single-Pilot Operations (SPO) are regarded as viable alternatives to conventional two-pilot operations for commercial transport aircraft. In comparison with current operations, SPO requires high cognitive efforts, which potentially result in increased human error rates. This article proposes a novel Cognitive Pilot-Aircraft Interface (CPAI) concept, which introduces adaptive knowledge-based system functionalities to assist single pilots in the accomplishment of mission-essential and safety-critical tasks in modern commercial transport aircraft. The proposed CPAI system implementation is based on real-time detection of the pilot physiological and cognitive states, allowing the avoidance of pilot errors and supporting enhanced synergies between the human and the avionics systems. These synergies yield significant improvements in the overall performance and safety levels. A CPAI working process consisting of sensing, estimation and reconfiguration steps is developed to support the assessment of physiological and external conditions, a dynamic allocation of tasks and adaptive alerting. Suitable mathematical models are introduced to estimate the mental demand associated with each piloting task and to assess the pilot cognitive states. Suitably implemented decision logics allow a continuous and optimal adjustment of the automation levels as a function of the estimated cognitive states. Representative numerical simulation test cases provide a preliminary validation of the CPAI concept. In particular, the continuous adaptation of the flight deck’s automation successfully maintains the pilot’s task load within an optimal range, mitigating the onset of hazardous fatigue levels. It is anticipated that by including suitably designed Psychophysiological-Based Integrity Augmentation (PBIA) functionalities the CPAI will allow to fulfill the evolving aircraft certification requirements and hence support the implementation of SPO in commercial transport aircraft.
- Urban Air Mobility and Advanced Air Mobility (Click to View/Collapse)
Rorie, C., Battiste, V., Shively, R. (2021). m:N and Human Autonomy Teaming Concepts for High Density Vertiport Operations . NASA/TM-202100025392.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The emergence of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) as an area for research and investment has led to the development of a variety of Concepts of Operations (ConOps) that propose a set of nominal architectures and technological capabilities that are critical for incorporating vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft into rural, suburban, and urban environments. The "High-Density Automated Vertiport Concept of Operations" covers operations in and around "vertiports", which are defined as an "identifiable ground or elevated area used for the takeoff and landing of VTOL aircraft" [NUAIR, 2021]. Similar to terminal area operations for traditional aviation, operations involving high-density vertiports (HDVs) will need to be highly structured while also remaining resilient to the various contingencies that can happen in that environment.
There are numerous stakeholders that are central to the AAM and HDV ConOps. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) will maintain regulatory oversight, while state and local governments will be expected to impose operational limitations on activities in their region. Providers of Services to Urban Air Mobility (PSU) will be responsible for managing the exchange of data between operators in a geographical area and a PSU Network will ensure information is shared across all stakeholders. Vehicles will have on-board or remote pilots who will be responsible for the health and state of the aircraft but will receive support from a Fleet Manager (FM), who supervises a fleet of vehicles and ensures proper coordination between the flight crew, the aircraft, and the PSU. Finally, a Vertiport Manager (VM) will manage the operations going into and out of one or more vertiports. The flight crew, FM, and VM will all receive additional support from automation at their respective positions.
This paper focuses on the role of the FM and, in particular, the ways in which automation could support their position as they manage multiple aircraft and operators in a highly dynamic environment. The role of the FM is consistent with an "m:N" architecture, where "m" number of operators cooperatively manage "N" number of vehicles (where "N" is always larger than "m"). In such a paradigm it is critical to provide the operator with the tools and information necessary to manage their fleet safely and navigate the known pitfalls with highly automated, complex systems (e.g., brittleness, insufficient situation awareness, skill degradation). As the field of m:N has expanded as an area of study, a set of higher-level automation concepts have emerged - namely "plays," "working agreements," and "human-autonomy teaming" (HAT) - that could support operators in this new role..
Shively, R. (2020). AAM Human Factors Issues. Presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, San Antonio, Texas.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
This presentation will highlight the many human factors challenges that will be faced in the implementation of AAM (Advanced Air Mobility).
Toscano, W. (2020). Motion Sickness and Concerns for Urban Air Mobility Vehicles: A Literature Review. NASA/TM-20205009977.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Motion sickness is a general term for a constellation of signs and symptoms, generally due to exposure to abrupt, periodic, or unnatural accelerations, especially when traveling in a vehicle. Motion sickness results from a mismatch of the visual and nonvisual (vestibular and kinesthetic) information, the observed scene and the motion felt or lack of it. Motion sickness onset is associated with a pattern of physiological changes in heart rate, peripheral blood flow, respiration, and skin conductance and the pattern is repeatable for a particular subject but variable between subjects. Demographic factors such as gender and age that affect motion sickness are well known with children, women, and older adults more likely to be susceptible.
Often motion sickness is assessed and quantified using variations of the motion sickness susceptibility questionnaires including the Pensacola Diagnostic Rating Scale and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire. Even though symptoms are easily identified by such questionnaires, they commonly are subjective. Tools such as these questionnaires for screening individuals susceptible to motion sickness are useful, however, they are only mildly predictive. Moreover, models for predicting motion sickness, which have largely been developed for sea sickness, do not consider task characteristics.
Predictions of motion sickness rates and prevalence for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles are not possible at present because data from actual flight or full-fidelity simulation are simply not yet available. Extrapolation from other modes of transportation (i.e., automobiles, buses, trains, boats, other types of aircraft) is difficult because of differences in the motion stimulus experienced, trip duration, and other factors. How UAM vehicles will change the social dynamics of passenger interaction and vehicle interior design changes (e.g., seat orientations) is unknown. Should motion sickness prove to be an issue, vehicle design modifications such as having passengers face forward, providing additional seat recline, giving each person their own climate control for airflow, perhaps ensuring the horizon is visible to all passengers (reducing visual occlusion by the headrest) and visually stabilizing displays on carry-on devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.) may benefit passengers. Several commercial companies provide wearable devices for physiological monitoring that have been validated and are suitable for use with passengers in UAM vehicles or high-fidelity simulators. Potential countermeasures for motion sickness include user-worn devices, anti-motion sickness medications, and non-pharmacological approaches such as biofeedback and Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise. Both simulator and in-vehicle UAM research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of any potential countermeasure.
Begault, D. (2020). Psychoacoustic Measures for UAM Noise in the Context of Ambient Sound. Presented at the Vertical Flight Society SF Bay Area Chapter, June, 2020.
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FOCUS OF THE PRESENTATION
- Prediction of human response to EVTOL noise using psychoacoustic evaluation ("listening tests") that includes realistic Ambient Noise
- Ensure that such tests are ecologically valid: include
- Realistic simulations using auralization techniques
- Accurate modeling of sound propagation in the environment
- Accurate simulation of sound levels and spatial auditory cues
- Realistic signal-noise ratios (by including ambient sound)
- Enable evaluation & comparison of relevant metrics and criteria using multiple methods in the laboratory to establish psychometric data
Glaab, P., Wieland, F., Santos, M., Shamrma, R., Tamburro, R., Lee, P. (2019). Simulating Fleet Noise for Notional UAM Vehicles and Operations in New York. 38th Digital Avionics Systems Conference, San Diego, CA.
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This paper presents the results of systems-level simulations using Metrosim that were conducted for notional Urban Air Mobility (UAM)-style vehicles analyzed for two different scenarios for New York (NY). UAM is an aviation industry term for passenger or cargo-carrying air transportation services, which are often automated, operating in an urban/city environment. UAM-style vehicles are expected to use vertical takeoff and landing with fixed wing cruise flight. Metrosim is a metroplex-wide route and airport planning tool that can also be used in standalone mode as a simulation tool. The scenarios described and reported in this paper were used to evaluate a fleet noise prediction capability for this tool. The work was a collaborative effort between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Intelligent Automation, Inc (IAI), and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). One scenario was designed to represent an expanded air-taxi operation from existing helipads around Manhattan to the major New York airports. The other case represented a farther term vision case with commuters using personal air vehicles to hub locations just outside New York, with an air-taxi service running frequent connector trips to a few key locations inside Manhattan. For both scenarios, the trajectories created for the entire fleet were passed to the Aircraft Environmental Design Tool (AEDT) to generate Day-Night Level (DNL) noise contours for inspection. Without data for actual UAM vehicles available, surrogate AEDT empirical Noise-Power-Distance (NPD) tables used a similar sized current day helicopter as the Baseline, and a version of that same data linearly scaled as a first guess at possible UAM noise data. Details are provided for each of the two scenario configurations, and the output noise contours are presented for the Baseline and reduced noise DNL cases.
Vascik, P., Balakrishnan, H., Hansman, J. (2018). Assessment of Air Traffic Control for Urban Air Mobility and Unmanned Systems. 8th International Conference for Research in Air Transportation (ICRAT). Barcelona, Spain.
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This paper assesses how the introduction of urban air mobility services and unmanned aircraft systems may challenge Air Traffic Control (ATC) in the United States and what opportunities exist to support these forthcoming operations. Four attributes unique to these emerging operations were identified that may challenge effective ATC. Each attribute concerned the scalability of current ATC systems to support a large number of new airspace users at low altitudes. Six potential operational limitations were identified that ATC may impose upon airspace users in an effort to manage increased traffic demand. The fundamental mechanisms that set the aircraft capacity of an airspace, considered to be a surrogate for ATC scalability, were determined. The influence of ATC system architecture, technologies, and operational factors on these mechanisms was diagramed. Finally, the ability of various new ATC approaches to support high density, low altitude operations were reviewed with respect to these mechanisms.
Shaheen, S., Cohen, A., Farrar, E. (2018). The Potential Societal Barriers of Urban Air Mobility. UC Berkeley: Transportation Sustainability Research Center.
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Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging concept of air transportation where small package delivery drones to passenger-carrying air taxis operate over populated areas, from small towns to the largest cities are being considered. This could revolutionize the way people move within and around cities by shortening commute times, bypassing ground congestion, and enabling point-to-point flights across cities. In recent years, several companies have designed and tested enabling elements of this concept, including; prototypes of Vertical Take-Off Landing (VTOL) capable vehicles, operational concepts, and potential business models. While UAM may be enabled by the convergence of several factors, several challenges could prevent its mainstreaming, such as societal acceptance.
Vacsik, P., Hansman, J., Dunn, N. (2018). Analysis of Urban Air Mobility Operational Constraints. JAT Air Transportation. Volume 26, Number 4.
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Urban air mobility (UAM) refers to a set of vehicles and operational concepts proposed to provide on-demand or scheduled air transportation services within a metropolitan area. This paper investigates potential operational constraints that could arise during the implementation or scale-up of a UAM system. Literature on helicopter passenger networks was reviewed to determine operational constraints experienced by prior services similar to UAM. A constraint analysis was applied to near-term UAM operations in Los Angeles, Boston, and Dallas to assess if the historical constraints persist, or if novel constraints have emerged. The three city cases represented geographically diverse implementation regions for UAM services. A notional door-to-door concept of operations was applied to 32 reference missions within the three city cases. The reference missions exhibited a variety of requirements in terms of flight distance, passenger volume, market type, population overflight, and air traffic congestion, among others. By reviewing ground and flight operations for each reference mission, eight operational constraints were identified that could limit UAM system growth potential or prohibit UAM services altogether. The three most stringent constraints concerned community acceptance of aircraft noise, takeoff and landing area availability, and air traffic control scalability.
Archdeacon, J., Iwai, N., Feary. M. (2020). Aerospace Cognitive Engineering Laboratory (ACELAB) Simulator for Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Research and Development. AIAA Aviation Forum, June 15-19, 2020, Virtual Event.
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A new generation of aerospace innovators are looking for ways to quickly and efficiently transport people in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. In the not-too-distant future, passengers and goods are expected to routinely fly aboard a new breed of cleaner, smarter air vehicles. This represents a new and significant challenge to the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) which is responsible for aircraft certification, pilot licensing, operating approval and airspace integration.
To help streamline this process, NASA has formulated its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) project to provide research capabilities for development and evaluation of these new concepts and an environment where industry and regulators can work together to understand the requirements and work toward consensus standards for the new market.
This paper will describe the development of the Aerospace Cognitive Engineering Lab Rapid Automation Test (ACELeRATE) simulator. ACELeRATE is an adaptable fixed-base aircraft simulator focused on the investigation of the performance and interaction of pilots and increasingly automated aircraft systems. ACELeRATE can be re-configured to support various simulation environments. The simulator includes a simple reconfigurable cockpit placed within a 10-foot spherical dome with a cluster of real-time image generators, high-resolution displays and highly realistic scenery with the surrounding digital terrain and required cultural area details (e.g., hangars, runways, ramp areas, taxiways, test range apparatus, buildings with designated rooftop landing areas, and other man-made 3D structures).
This paper will also describe the various hardware and software tools employed in the ACELeRATE simulator, including engineering tools used by NASA for electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) vehicle equations of motion, wind-model simulation in an urban environment, as well as the various modeling techniques and tools used to quickly generate highly realistic 3D terrain models for low level flight including urban terrain and obstacle depictions.
Tiltrotor and Advanced Rotorcraft Technology in the National Airspace System (TARTNAS), FAA RE&D Committee Vertical Flight Subcommitteereport, March, 2001.
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The purpose was to determine what activities/efforts and criteria are necessary to establish how the combination of satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) assets, tiltrotors and advanced vertical flight technologies can best be exploited to address the current and future problems affecting air commerce worldwide.
This study addresses the above purpose in four sections: The Aircraft; Operational Considerations; Air Traffic Control, and Public Acceptance. Panels of experts were formed for each section. Representation included manufacturers, civil users and operators, military and government users and operators, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Literature searches were made of the volumes of documents addressing various aspects of their general areas and are included as references. Each section provides specific recommendations to accomplish the purpose of this effort.
Keeler, J., Verma, S., Edwards, T. (2019). Investigation of Communications Involved in Near-term UAM Operations. 2019 IEEE/AIAA 38th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC).
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This report provides an overview and initial examination of Urban Air Mobility, an emerging form of air transportation service in low-altitude airspace. It addresses six main questions: What Is Urban Air Mobility (UAM)? What is enabling this new industry? Who are some major participants in UAM? What are the challenges to enabling UAM operations? When will we see UAM operations? Why does this matter? We expect the industry vision to evolve as technologies are matured and policies are enacted.
**Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Executive Roundtable
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Over the past two years, the FAA has seen increased industry demand signal in the area of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) that has prompted engagement on all FAA organization levels up to DoT Secretary Level. During this time, the new sector of the aerospace industry known as UAM has witnessed multiplicative growth with just over 70 UAM aircraft manufacturers in December 2017 to nearly 200 in less than two years.
UAM is unique in that it is not a singular aircraft technology but a timely confluence of innovations and improvements in the area of eVTOL aircraft, advancements in automation, UTM inspired Air Traffic Management systems and the development of multi-modal, on-demand transportation services. Additionally, the Industry stakeholders who make up the UAM trade space are diverse and not limited to traditional aircraft manufacturers. Many possess the same innovative spirit associated with the technologists of Silicon Valley, but may not have the same institutional knowledge of traditional players in the aircraft manufacturer’s arena.
To address this Industry demand signal, the FAA has hosted two UAM Executive Roundtable discussions with the first conducted on June 15, 2018 (the EVHT Roundtable--Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Human Transport – henceforth known as Urban Air Mobility). Initial early discussions focused on feasibility, strategic priorities, defining challenges, and describing a regulatory approach to UAM.
The second UAM Roundtable took place less than a year later on March 29, 2019. At this second roundtable, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and General Aviation Manufacturers Association(GAMA) presented a UAM framework that provided the industry's priorities, timelines, and the initial concept for discussion with the FAA to best achieve success for this innovative sector. Additional highlights included a NASA progress update on the recently initiated UAM Grand Challenge and additional discussions that featured input from EASA and their approach to UAM.
In the spirit of collaboration, a call to action was put forth to conduct a third UAM Executive Roundtable and as a productive venue and establish it as the foremost UAM community forum. Round Table III will address progress made, ongoing challenges and highlight successes as well as community wide concerns as this new sector continues to evolve.
Thipphavong, D., Apaza, R., Barmore, B., Battiste, V., Burian, B., Dao,Q., Feary, M., Go, S., Goodrich, K., Homola, J., Idris, H., Kopardekar, P.,
Lachter, J., Neogi, N., Ng, H., Oseguera-Lohr, R., Patterson, M., Verma, S. (2018) Urban Air Mobility Airspace Integration Concepts and Considerations. AIAA Aviation Forum (Aviation 2018); June 25, 2018 - June 29, 2018; Atlanta, GA; United States.
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Urban Air Mobility - defined as safe and efficient air traffic operations in a metropolitan area for manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems—is being researched and developed by industry, academia, and government. Significant resources have been invested toward cultivating an ecosystem for Urban Air Mobility that includes manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, builders of takeoff and landing areas, and researchers of the airspace integration concepts, technologies, and procedures needed to conduct Urban Air Mobility operations safely and efficiently alongside other airspace users. This paper provides high-level descriptions of both emergent and early expanded operational concepts for Urban Air Mobility that NASA is developing. The scope of this work is defined in terms of missions, aircraft, airspace, and hazards. Past and current Urban Air Mobility operations are also reviewed, and the considerations for the data exchange architecture and communication, navigation, and surveillance requirements are also discussed. This paper will serve as a starting point to develop a framework for NASA's Urban Air Mobility airspace integration research and development efforts with partners and stakeholders that could include fast-time simulations, human-in-the-loop simulations, and flight demonstrations.
Holbrook, J,. Prinzell, L., Chancey, E., Shively, R., Feary, M., Dao, Q., Ballin, M., Teubert, C. (2020). Enabling Urban Air Mobility: Human Autonomy Teaming Research Challenges and Recommendations. AIAA Aviation Forum, June 15-19, 2020, Virtual Event.
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Notions of "teaming" between human and machine agents have emerged as a critical area of research, focused not on how machines can think like people, but on how machines can help people think better. This paper details the efforts of a NASA committee to develop a research plan to address challenges and technology gaps associated with future aviation market applications, focused specifically on identification and implementation of capabilities and principles that facilitate humans and machines working and thinking better together. The NASA committee reviewed existing human-autonomy teaming (HAT) research, identified stakeholder community objectives, reviewed relevant concepts of operation, and identified a framework for establishing a coordinated, comprehensive, and prioritized research plan. The committee’s findings with regard to the importance of HAT and HAT challenges for enabling future aviation market applications are described. This effort is intended to provide policy makers, engineers, and researchers with useful guidance for directing and coordinating HAT research activities.
The Future of Transportation: White Paper on Urban Air Mobility Systems. EHang report, January, 2020.
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Urban Air Mobility (UAM) as a concept was defined by NASA as “safe and efficient air traffic operations in a metropolitan area for manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems” (Urban Air Mobility Airspace Integration Concepts and Considerations). With governments, enterprises and research institutes paying increasing attention to UAM, this new concept has caught on quickly.
As a disruptive industry, UAM is expected to revolutionize existing transportation modes including on highways, railways, airways, and waterways. A 2018 Morgan Stanley blue paper estimates that the global UAM addressable market would reach US $1.5 trillion by 2040.
As the size of urban populations grows, traffic congestion and air pollution remain as major threats that take a toll on economic growth. It is imperative for governments to seek alternative solutions by making strategic moves to promote UAM system development as an alternative to existing ground transportation.
In this context, our white paper aims to explore the potential of UAM through insights into UAM applications and commercialization based on practical use cases. Starting from the UAM concept, it further explored the way how UAM systems can materially change people’s lives and impact the existing transportation modes.
If safety, smart cities and cluster management should form the three most fundamental tenets for a modern UAM system, future transportation would become smooth, smart, efficient, and eco-friendly. Given its innovative and disruptive nature, UAM has significant advantages over traditional transportation modes. The advent of 5G networks will further strengthen the function and capabilities of existing UAM platforms, which can remotely command a multitude of versatile AAVs more effectively.
The UAM concept could be further extended into applications in rural areas where the existing ground transportation infrastructure is inadequate. Besides transportation, UAM vehicles can function in specific scenarios in tourism, industrials, emergency medical services, fire control, and other use cases.
As technologies mature, they require the collaboration between governments and enterprises to create new regulatory frameworks to facilitate future development. This is especially critical for UAM, starting now – not in the future. In addition, the ongoing collection of commercial operational data of current and future pilot projects will be necessary for supporting investment decisions in both the private and public sectors.
Overall, our empirical tests and research in UAM have strengthened our belief that UAM is no longer a dream of the future, but is already well on its way here and now.
Wing, D., Chancey, E., Politowicz, M., Ballin, M. (2020). Achieving Resilient In-Flight Performance for Advanced Air Mobility through Simplified Vehicle Operations. AIAA Aviation Forum, June 15-19, 2020, Virtual Event.
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A research and development (R&D) approach is proposed for developing and validating concepts and technologies to achieve vehicle autonomy goals of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) through Simplified Vehicle Operations (SVO). The approach applies resilience-engineering and human-automation teaming (HAT) principles to a framework for defining vehicle-based functions for the management of missions and flight trajectories, focusing initially on the en route flight domain. To achieve the SVO goal of reducing pilot training requirements and thereby increasing the pilot pool for AAM, while at the same time promoting ever-safer operations, a framework for identifying essential functions is proposed. In this framework, functions are first categorized by high-level functional purpose (mission management, flightpath management, tactical operations, and vehicle control) and then subcategorized by attributes of resilient-performing systems (abilities to monitor, respond, learn, and anticipate). The categorization by functional purpose provides structure within which HAT designs can be holistically explored and total levels of human vs. automation responsibility can be varied. The subcategorization by resilient-system attributes provides a mechanism for capturing safety-critical functions that may not be codified in current operational procedures and training curricula, particularly those where humans proactively enhance safety in currently undocumented ways. An R&D approach consisting of seven strategies is proposed in which automation engineering and human-factors communities can collaborate in the research, development, and design of an SVO roadmap to enable the ambitious objectives of AAM.
A Rational Construct for Simplified Vehicle Operations (SVO). GASA EPIC SVO Subcommittee Whitepaper. May, 2019.
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Simplified Vehicle Operations (SVO) is the use of automation coupled with human factors best practices to reduce the quantity of trained skills and knowledge that the pilot or operator of an aircraft must acquire to operate the system at the required level of operational safety. SVO presupposes the application of human systems integration approaches and techniques to ensure seamless coordination and execution of both independent and joint pilot and automation functions.
Edwards, T., Verma, S., Keeler, J. (2019). Exploring Human Factors Issues for Urban Air Mobility Operations. In AIAA Aviation 2019 Forum (p. 3629).
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Urban air mobility (UAM) is currently receiving increased attention in the aviation literature as a new entrant into the airspace. Although the introduction of UAM offers the potential for significant benefits, it also creates the potential for fundamental change to the current air traffic management system. Several concepts are being explored to enable the development of a safe and efficient UAM system for near, mid and far term operations. Concept of operations for near term operations proposed several assumptions. Concepts for roles and responsibilities of human operators such as air traffic controllers propose different degrees of involvement. Identifying and exploring human factors issues is therefore a critical next step in the forward progression of concept development. A human in the loop air traffic control simulation was used to investigate the effect of UAM traffic density and changes in current airspace routes and communication procedures on subjective controller workload and efficiency-related task performance. Findings indicate that although subjective workload was manageable for low density operations, medium and high density operations led to unmanageable levels of workload, leading to refusals to allow more vehicles in controlled airspace. By implementing a letter of agreement, verbal communications were reduced which were associated with reduced workload. Optimized routes were also associated with reduced workload and increased performance efficiency. Although these adjustments can positively support controller performance, workload still remained high during the high density UAM traffic scenarios. It is therefore suggested that, in order for UAM operation to become scalable, human operators will be required to work differently compared to current air traffic controllers. Future research should focus on the level and type of human operator or controller involvement and interaction with automated systems, to ensure safety and efficiency within UAM operations.
Adelstein, B. (2019). Air Vehicle Factors Affecting Occupant Health, Comfort, and Productivity. 8th Biennial Autonomous VTOL Technical Meeting; January 28, 2019 - February 01, 2019; Mesa, AZ; United States.
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Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles will need to meet the safety and comfort expectations of passengers and crews. However, existing Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness standards for airplanes and rotorcraft are unlikely to adequately address these needs. Some insight into this issue may be gained from research into NASA's approach to human-systems integration standards and guidelines that promote astronaut health, safety, and performance, since both space and UAM vehicles must consider factors such as occupant motion sickness, vibration, and sound levels. Building upon knowledge garnered from the experience of NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other international organizations, this presentation will elucidate: 1) how UAM-induced flight factors can impact occupant comfort, productivity, as well as safety; and 2) how government and industry standards could be developed or revised to help assure passenger acceptance of revolutionary Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft technologies.
Edwards, T., Verma, S., Keeler, J. (2019). Workload Considerations in Urban Air Mobility. 3rd International Symposium on Human Mental Workload: Models and Applications (H-WORKLOAD 2019); November 14, 2019 - November 15, 2019; Rome; Italy.
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Urban Air Mobility is receiving rapidly increasing attention across academic, research and industry domains. UAM operations will interact heavily with traditional airspace and as such, interactions with ATCOs will occur in the near to mid-term future operations. Investigation of the impact of UAM traffic on ATCOs' workload and performance is needed to identify and mitigate potential risks to human performance and human operator roles. Our aim: investigate the effect of: 1) Task demand, 2) Route modification, 2) Verbal clearance procedures on workload and efficiency-related performance.
Connors, Mary M. (2020, February). Understanding Risk in Urban Air Mobility: Moving Towards Safe Operating Standards. NASA/TM-2020-220507.
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Urban Air Mobility (UAM), i.e. on-demand urban passenger (and cargo) transportation services, represents a new technology and potentially an emerging industry. It is not simply an extension of commercial aviation as we know it—it is a different domain. A first priority for UAM is that it be safe and secure (Booz, Allen, Hamilton, 2018; Crown, Consulting, Inc., 2018). A workshop held in Arlington, Virginia, brought together experts from the on-demand world (including UAM) to assess and prioritize the challenges and barriers to be addressed in successfully introducing On Demand Mobility (ODM) vehicles and services (ODM and Emerging Technology Workshop, 2016). Of the nine challenges assessed, the highest priority was assigned to certification, followed by affordability, and then safety. Considering the confluence of certification and safety, it is clear that risk and its assessment were judged to be of high relevance to workshop participants.
For the UAM domain there is a range of questions concerning the projected safety of vehicles and their intended operational environment. We assume here that, at least for the near future, these vehicles will be piloted, but it is likely that one day they will be unmanned. Many questions involving UAMs cannot be answered at this point (see UBER Elevate, 2016, 2017), however, developers are eager to get started and—lacking specific guidance—a number of going-in assumptions are being made. For instance, developers are working to meet the operational requirements under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 135. These requirements cover commuter and on demand operations and rules governing persons on board such aircraft. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International also provides some aid in anticipating requirements from an international perspective (SAE International, 2010). While these documents are insufficient for the yet-to-be-developed electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (e-VTOL) vehicles, they do provide help in thinking about the safety needs, risk levels, and eventual certification requirements needed for UAM missions. The purpose of this report is to help advance the discussion by considering how various factors could contribute to the establishment of guidelines and standards for UAM systems.
Courtin, C., Hansman, J. (2018). Safety Considerations in Emerging Electric Aircraft Architectures. 2018 Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference,June 25-29, 2018, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Safety and certification considerations which impact the design of an emerging new class of small, electric aircraft were investigated. Based on an assessment of the different emerging aircraft designs, vehicles were grouped based on lifting and propulsive architecture. Likely certification pathways and the associated airworthiness requirements were investigated. Key hazards were identified, and were classified by severity for each architecture group. The key hazards identified were lithium-polymer battery thermal runaway and energy uncertainty, common mode power system failure, and vehicle automation failure. Mitigation strategies for each identified hazard were identified based on current technology and regulatory requirements. These mitigation strategies were assessed for different vehicle architectures. Aircraft with the ability to controllably glide or autorotate are shown to have lower certification risk.
Connors, Mary M. (2019, July) Factors that Influence Community Acceptance of Noise: An Introduction for Urban Air Mobility. NASA/TM-2019-220325.
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Noise has been identified as a major challenge to community acceptance of Urban Air Mobility Systems. The purpose of this paper is to assist designers, developers, and implementers in understanding the various factors from the noise source itself to the conditions of the community that influence how the community is likely to respond to the introduction of a new noise source. Particular consideration is given to the role of non-acoustical factors and suggestions are offered as to how future research could help advance the understanding of community acceptance of Urban Air Mobility and other emergent vehicle systems.
Hasan, S. (2019). Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Market Study. NASA Technical Report.
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The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Market Study is an in-depth study for ODM market leveraging identified key technical barriers to understand community interests and market conditions from all aspects such as regulations, economics, public acceptance, airspace operations and safety.
Kopardekar, P. (2019). Supply Chain Ecosystem for Urban Air Mobility. Urban Air Mobility Conference; April 09, 2019 - April 10, 2019; Atlanta, GA; United States.
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Future urban mobility promises to deliver transformative impact across the value chain. Consequently, suppliers will face disruption in the form of new technologies, stakeholders and market dynamics. How can supply networks be optimized to meet capabilities that are yet unknown? This session will explore what business models and supply chain strategies can best deliver value for urban air transport and will address how to scale these networks at the pace of this rapidly evolving ecosystem.
Vacsik, P., Hansman, J. (2018). Scaling Constraints for Urban Air Mobility Operations: Air Traffic Control, Ground Infrastructure, and Noise. 2018 Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference.
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The scalability of the current air traffic control system, the availability of aviation ground infrastructure, and the acceptability of aircraft noise to local communities have been identified as three key operational constraints that may limit the implementation or growth of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) systems. This paper identifies the primary mechanisms through which each constraint emerges to limit the number of UAM operations in an area (i.e. the scale of the service). Technical, ecosystem, or operational factors that influence each of the mechanisms are also identified. Interdependencies between the constraints are shown. Potential approaches to reduce constraint severity through adjustments to the mechanisms are introduced. Finally, an effort is made to characterize the severity of each operational constraint as a function of the density of UAM operations in a region of interest. To this end, a measure of severity is proposed for each constraint. This measure is used to notionally display how the severity of the constraint responds to UAM scaling, and to identify scenarios where efforts to relieve the constraint are most effective. The overall purpose of this paper is to provide an abstraction of the workings of the key UAM operational constraints so that researchers, developers, and practitioners may guide their efforts to mitigation pathways that are most likely to increase achievable UAM system scale.
Al Haddad, C., Chaniotakis, E., Straubinger, A., Plotner, K., Antiniou, C. (2019). Factors Affecting the Adoption and Use of Urban Air Mobility. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume 132, February 2020, pages 696-712.
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Technological advances have recently led to the development of urban air mobility (UAM), an alternative transportation mode with several concepts including vehicles operated by on-demand fully-automated vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) for intra–city passenger transportation. However, despite a growing interest in UAM, understanding users' perceptions of it remains limited. This research aims to identify and quantify the factors affecting the adoption and use of UAM, based on relevant tools from the literature, such as recurring factors in studies on aerial vehicle concepts, ground autonomous vehicles, but also acceptance models, such as the Technology Acceptance Model by Davis et al. (1989). A stated–preference survey
was developed to assess the perception of users in terms of adoption time horizon, including options such as the first six years of the service's implementation, "unsure", and "never". The obtained results were evaluated using exploratory factor analyses, and the specification and estimation of suitable discrete choice models, multinomial logit models (MNLs) and ordered logit models (OLMs), with adoption time horizon as a dependent variable. Findings revealed the importance of safety and trust, affinity to automation, data concerns, social attitude, and socio–demographics for adoption. Factors, such as the value of time savings,the perception of automation costs, and service reliability, were also found to be highly influential. There was also an indication that skeptical respondents, i.e. answering "unsure", had a behavior similar to late and non-adopters, i.e. adoption time horizon higher than six years or answering "never". The summarized results were represented in an extended Technology Acceptance Model for urban air mobility, and provided insights for policymakers and industrial stakeholders.
Vishwanath, B., Banavar, S., Cone, A., Thipphavong, D. (2019). Analysis of Interactions Between Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Operations and Conventional Traffic in Urban Areas: Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance (TCAS) Study for UAM Operations. AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum (Aviation 2019); June 17, 2019 - June 21, 2019; Dallas, TX; United States.
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This paper presents a preliminary modeling and analysis of interactions between proposed UAM operations and present-day conventional traffic if UAM operations occurred along FAA-approved helicopter routes and altitude ceilings. It assesses the extent to which the UAM operations will trigger TCAS resolution advisories (RA) aboard the conventional aircraft in the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) terminal airspace. It is observed that under deterministic UAM operational conditions, no RAs will be triggered. Furthermore, the impact of UAM altitude uncertainty is also evaluated. It is observed that restricting the UAM cruise altitudes to 990 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL) or below reduced the chance of triggering an RA to under five percent throughout the day, even in the presence of maximum altitude error of 30 feet.
Pinto Neto, E., Baum, D., Rady de Almeida, J., Batista Camargo, J., Sergio Cugnasca, P. (2019). Trajectory-Based Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Operations Simulator (TUS).
Technical Report.
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Nowadays, the demand for optimized services in urban environments to provide better society wellness is increasing. In this sense, ground transportation in dense urban environments has been facing challenges for many years (e.g., congestion and resilience). One import outcome of the effort made toward the creation of new concepts for enhancing urban transportation is the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) concept. UAM aims at enhancing city transportation services using manned and unmanned vehicles. However, these operations bring many challenges to be faced, e.g., the interaction between the controller agent and autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, trajectory planning is not a simple task due to several factors. Firstly, the trajectories must consider a reduced minimum separation as eVTOL vehicles are expected to operate in complex urban environments. This leads the trajectory planning process to observe safety primitives more restrictively once the airspace is expected to comport many vehicles that follow small minimum separation standards. Thereupon, the main goal of the Trajectory-Based UAM Operations Simulator (TUS) is to simulate the Trajectory-Based UAM operations in urban environments considering the presence of both manned and unmanned eVTOL vehicles. For this, a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) approach is adopted, which considers an input (i.e., the eVTOL vehicles, their origin and destination, and their respective trajectories) and produces an output (which describes if the trajectories are safe and the elapsed operation time). The main contribution of this simulation tool is to provide a simulated environment for testing and measuring the effectiveness (e.g., flight duration) of trajectories planned for eVTOL vehicles.
Verma, S., Monheim, S., Moolchandani, K., Pradeep, P., Cheng, A., Thipphavong, D., Dulchinos, V., Arneson, H., Lauderdale, T., Bosson, C., Mueller, E., Wei, B. (2020). Lessons Learned: Using UTM Paradigm for Urban Air Mobility Operations.
Proceedings of the 39th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC). October 13-16, 2020, San Antonio, TX.
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Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aims to reduce congestion on the roads and highways by offering air taxi as an alternative to driving on surface roads. Integration of UAM operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been the focus of the research conducted at NASA Ames Research Center. A simulation was
performed in collaboration with Uber Technologies Inc to investigate if NASA’s UTM architecture and its implementation as demonstrated in the 2019 UTM field tests were extensible for UAM operations, and if the data exchange between multiple operators as planned under UTM were adequate for UAM operations in the shared airspace. In order to explore these research questions, three Use Cases were defined to investigate
different airspace management challenges. This paper will describe the lessons learned from exercising the uses cases and the airspace management services including scheduling and separation developed to facilitate initial UAM operations.
Rizzi, S., Huff, D., Boyd, D., Bent, P., Henderson, B., Pascioni, K., Sargent, C., Josephson, D., Marsan, M., He, H., Snider, R. (2020). Urban Air Mobility Noise: Current Practice, Gaps, and Recommendations.
NASA Technical Report.
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Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an opportunity for aviation to improve transportation systems across the world. While not strict definitions, representative UAM vehicle attributesinclude electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles that can accommodate up to 6 passengers (or equivalent cargo), are possibly autonomous, perform missions of up to 100 nautical miles at altitudes up to 3000 ft. above ground level, have flight speeds up to 200 knots, and payloads between 800 and 8000 pounds. Along with the many anticipated benefits, there will be noise issues that need to be addressed. In 2018, NASA formed an Urban Air Mobility Noise Working Group (UNWG) to assemble noise experts from industry, universities and government agencies to identify, discuss, and address UAM noise issues. This paper presents a set of high-level goals intended to address barriers associated with UAM noise that may hamper UAM vehicle entry into service. It summarizes the current practice, identifies gaps in the current practice, and makes recommendations to address the gaps to achieve the high-level goals in four areas of interest: Tools and Technologies, Ground and Flight Testing, Human Response and Metrics, and Regulation and Policy. The high-level goals and an abridged version of the recommendations in each area of interest are presented below.
- Automation and Displays (Click to View/Collapse)
Parasuraman, R., Molloy, R., Singh, I. (1993). Performance Consequences of Automation Induced Complacency. International Journal of Aviation Psychology 3(1) - February 1993.
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The effect of variations in the reliability of an automated monitoring system on human operator detection of automation failures was examined in two experiments. For four 30-min sessions, 40 subjects performed an IBM PC-based flight simulation that included manual tracking and fuel-management tasks, as well as a system-monitoring task that was under automation control. Automation reliability - the percentage of system malfunctions detected by the automation routine - either remained constant at a low or high level over time or alternated every 10 min from low to high. Operator detection of automation failures was substantially worse for constant-reliability than for variable-reliability automation after about 20 min under automation control, indicating that the former condition induced 'complacency'. When system monitoring was the only task, detection was very efficient and was unaffected by variations in automation reliability. The results provide the first empirical evidence of the performance consequences of automation-induced 'complacency'. We relate findings to operator attitudes toward automation and discuss implications for cockpit automation design.
Merritt, S., Ako-Brew, A., Bryant, W., Staley, A., McKenna, M., Leone, A., Shirase, L. (2019). Automation-Induced Complacency Potential: Development and Validation of a New Scale. Front. Psychol., 19 February 2019.
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Complacency, or sub-optimal monitoring of automation performance, has been cited as a contributing factor in numerous major transportation and medical incidents. Researchers are working to identify individual differences that correlate with complacency as one strategy for preventing complacency-related accidents. Automation-induced complacency potential is an individual difference reflecting a general tendency to be complacent across a wide variety of situations which is similar to, but distinct from trust. Accurately assessing complacency potential may improve our ability to predict and prevent complacency in safety-critical occupations. Much past research has employed an existing measure of complacency potential. However, in the 25 years since that scale was published, our conceptual understanding of complacency itself has evolved, and we propose that an updated scale of complacency potential is needed. The goal of the present study was to develop, and provide initial validation evidence for, a new measure of automation-induced complacency potential that parallels the current conceptualization of complacency. In a sample of 475 online respondents, we tested 10 new items and found that they clustered into two separate scales: Alleviating Workload (which focuses on attitudes about the use of automation to ease workloads) and Monitoring (which focuses on attitudes toward monitoring of automation). Alleviating workload correlated moderately with the existing complacency potential rating scale, while monitoring did not. Further, both the alleviating workload and monitoring scales showed discriminant validity from the previous complacency potential scale and from similar constructs, such as propensity to trust. In an initial examination of criterion-related validity, only the monitoring-focused scale had a significant relationship with hypothetical complacency (r = -0.42, p < 0.01), and it had significant incremental validity over and above all other individual difference measures in the study. These results suggest that our new monitoring-related items have potential for use as a measure of automation-induced complacency potential and, compared with similar scales, this new measure may have unique value.
Cardosi, K., Donohoe, C., Willems, B., Albert, H., Anderson, G., Chen, J., Murphy, E., Carter, R., Feibinger, R. (2015) Information Display Protocol. FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/TC-TN-15/24
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Objective: Human Factors Engineers and air traffic control Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) developed a protocol to support decisions on how to present needed information on the en route controller’s visual displays. The protocol provides guidance for determining the criticality of the information and uses this criticality to determine where and how the information should be displayed.
Background: Human Factors Engineers and air traffic control SMEs developed and validated the protocol with current and upcoming FAA Next Generation Air Transportation System informational items and scenarios.
Application: The model provides a systematic method for integrating the informational needs of controllers and supports the decision process for designing air traffic control displays.
Bainbridge, L. (1983). Ironies of Automation. Automatica, Volume 19, Issue 6, November 1983, pages 775-779.
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This paper discusses the ways in which automation of industrial processes may expand rather than eliminate problems with the human operator. Some comments will be made on methods of alleviating these problems within the "classic" approach of leaving the operator with responsibility for abnormal conditions, and on the potential for continued use of the human operator for on-line decision-making within human-computer collaboration.
Irony: combination of circumstances, the result of which is the direct opposite of what might be expected.
Paradox: seemingly absurd though perhaps really well-founded statement.
The classic aim of automation is to replace human manual control, planning and problem solving by automatic devices and computers. However, as Bibby and colleagues (1975) point out: "even highly automated systems, such as electric power networks, need human beings for supervision, adjustment, maintenance, expansion and improvement. Therefore one can draw the paradoxical conclusion that automated systems still are man-machine systems, for which both technical and human factors are important." This paper suggests that the increased interest in human factors among engineers reflects the irony that the more advanced a control system is, so the more crucial may be the contribution of the human operator.
This paper is particularly concerned with control in process industries, although examples will be drawn from flight-deck automation. In process plants the different modes of operation may be automated to different extents, for example normal operation and shut-down may be automatic while start-up and abnormal conditions are manual. The problems of the use of automatic or manual control are a function of the predictability of process behaviour, whatever the mode of operation. The first two sections of this paper discuss automatic on-line control where a human operator is expected to take-over in abnormal conditions, the last section introduces some aspects of human- computer collaboration in on-line control.
Operational Use of Flight Path Management Systems. FAA Technical Report; Final Report of the Performance-based operations Aviation Rulemaking Committee/Commercial Aviation Safety Team Flight Deck Automation Working Group.
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This document contains the recommendations of the Flight Deck Automation Working Group, which was established by the PARC Steering Group and the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST). Its goal was to address, for current and projected operational use, the safety and efficiency of modern flight deck systems for flight path management (including energy-state management).
The Working Group analyzed safety and operational data to fulfill its tasking. It generated 29 findings and 18 recommendations that are documented in the final report in the attachment. The findings address: 1) many of the sources of safety and operational risk mitigation in the current aviation system, 2) equipment design, pilot training and qualification, and airspace operations, and 3) lessons learned from the analyses of different sources of safety and operational data.
The report provides recommendations to address the findings in each of these areas. The findings and recommendations are summarized in the Executive Summary of the report.
This material represents years of effort by the working group and is a significant body of work that should be invaluable to the FAA moving forward. The PARC expects this to have a positive effect on the aviation community through improved guidance material and policy for aircraft systems, training and flight operations.
Ahlstrom, U., & Dworsky, M. (2012). Effects of weather presentation symbology on general aviation pilot behavior, workload, and visual scanning. (DOT/FAA/TC-12/55). Atlantic City International Airport, NJ: Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of cockpit weather presentation symbology on General Aviation (GA) pilot weather avoidance, weather presentation usage, and cognitive workload.
Background: To support the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) program, on-going efforts focus on the implementation and use of weather technologies and weather presentations. Currently, there are no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or industry standards for the presentation of weather information in the cockpit.
Method: Twenty-five instrument-rated GA pilots were randomly allocated to one of three simulation groups. During two 25-minute simulation flights, participants flew a Cessna 172 single-engine GA aircraft (using autopilot) under Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) and Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). The pilots had to avoid the weather by using the cockpit weather presentation. We manipulated the cockpit weather presentation so that each pilot group used a different weather presentation symbology.
Results: We found group differences in weather deviations, visual scanning behavior, and cognitive workload.
Conclusions: Variations in weather presentations (colors and symbology) seem to affect pilot behavior and decision-making.
Applications: This simulation is part of an on-going assessment of the effects of weather presentation symbology related to the standardization and optimization of weather presentations in cockpits
.
Parasuraman, R., Bahri, T., Deaton, J., Morrison, J., Barnes, M. (1992). Theory and Design of Adaptive Automation in Aviation Systems. 48.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Recent technological advances have made viable the implementation of intelligent automation in advanced tactical aircraft. The use of this technology has given rise to new human factors issues and concerns. Errors in highly automated aircraft have been linked to the adverse effects of automation on the pilot's system awareness, monitoring workload, and ability to revert to manual control. However adaptive automation, or automation that is implemented dynamically in response to changing task demands on the pilot, has been proposed to be superior to systems with fixed, or static automation. This report examines several issues concerning the theory and design of adaptive automation in aviation systems, particularly as applied to advanced tactical aircraft. An analysis of the relative costs and benefits of conventional (static) aviation automation provides the starting point for the development of a theory of adaptive automation. This analysis includes a review of the empirical studies investigating effects of automation on pilot performance. The main concepts of adaptive automation are then introduced, and four major methods for implementing adaptive automation in the advanced cockpit are described and discussed. Aircraft Automation, Pilot Situational Awareness, Aviation Human Factors, Pilot Workload.
Bolstad, C., Endsley, M. (2000). The Effect of Task Load and Shared Displays on Team Situation Awareness. Proceedings of the IEA 2000/HFES 2000 Congress.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
In this study, we empirically tested the effects of two types of shared displays and varying workload levels on the formation of team situation awareness (SA). Results support the use of certain types of shared displays for enhancing team performance. The way in which people use shared displays is actually quite complex and related to the workload level. The use of an abstracted shared display was found to be beneficial for enhancing team performance, while the use of shared displays that completely duplicated the other team members' displays were found to be detrimental. Under low workload levels, no performance enhancements or problems were found associated with either shared display type. In high and moderate workload conditions, the significant benefits of the abstracted shared display were most apparent. Changes in team interaction style were found to accompany the use of the different types of shared displays. This study supports a model of Team SA and expands on previous research on shared displays. Shared display provides only the critical information from the other team member's display, based on an analysis of shared information requirements (Endsley and Jones, 1997). It is hypothesized that the use of abstracted shared displays might help to build team SA without imposing the extra workload observed with the use of the full shared displays and will help team members to further build up shared mental models. In addition, in the present study we wished to explore the issues associated with workload level and its effect on both team interaction and on the use of the shared displays in the development of team strategies for performing team tasks.
Zingale, C., Woroch, B. (2019). Air Traffic Control Decision Support Tool Design and Implementation Handbook, FAA Technical Report DOT/FAA/TC-19/37.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Objective: The purpose of the Handbook is to provide guidelines for the development of air traffic Decision Support Tools (DSTs) planned for use in the National Airspace System (NAS) and how to best train users to work with those tools.
Background: DSTs are typically not 100% accurate or reliable. Nevertheless, they can provide valuable assistance to users by helping them evaluate, select, and implement effective solutions. To do so, DSTs must be designed appropriately so that the tools themselves do not become distracting or add to workload.
Method: The guidelines provided in this document were derived from several sources including, 1) literature on automation support in air traffic control and other complex domains, 2) findings from previous studies conducted to investigate DST use by novices, and 3) information obtained from six air traffic controllers who participated in familiarization workshops on several DSTs.
Results: The Handbook consists of three sections. The first section provides guidelines for DST user interface design. The second section provides guidelines for training users to work with DSTs effectively. The third section provides an overview of research on human-automation teamwork. Human-automation teamwork will become increasingly important as automated systems continue to advance and artificial intelligence capabilities become more sophisticated.
Conclusion: The guidelines in the Handbook will help system developers design DSTs that enable users to build appropriate trust in the tools and allow users to intervene effectively if system failures occur.
Applications: The Handbook will be useful to human factors practitioners and systems engineers in FAA acquisition, including requirements developers, training developers, and others developing and testing air traffic control (ATC) systems. The results will also be useful to individuals and agencies who look to FAA standards for human factors guidance for DST use and integration.
- FAA Documents (Click to View/Collapse)
- Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Studies (Click to View/Collapse)
Consiglio, M., Carreño, V., Williams, D., Muñoz, C. (2008). Conflict Prevention and Separation Assurance Method in the Small Aircraft Transportation System, Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 45, No. 0021-8669.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
A multilayer approach to the prevention of conflicts due to the loss of aircraft-to-aircraft separation which relies on procedures and on-board automation was implemented as part of the SATS HVO Concept of Operations. The multilayer system gives pilots support and guidance during the execution of normal operations and advance warning for procedure deviations or off-nominal operations. This paper describes the major concept elements of this multilayer approach to separation assurance and conflict prevention and provides the rationale for its design. All the algorithms and functionality described in this paper have been implemented in an aircraft simulation in the NASA Langley Research Center’s Air Traffic Operation Lab and on the NASA Cirrus SR22 research aircraft.
Muñoz, C., Carreño, V., Dowek, G. (2006). Formal Analysis of the Operational Concept for the Small Aircraft Transportation System, Rigorous Engineering of Fault-Tolerant Systems, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 4157.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) is a NASA project aimed at increasing access to small non-towered non-radar airports in the US. SATS is a radical new approach to air traffic management where pilots flying instrument flight rules are responsible for separation without air traffic control services. In this paper, the SATS project serves as a case study of an operational air traffic concept that has been designed and analyzed primarily using formal techniques. The SATS concept of operations is modeled using non-deterministic, asynchronous transition systems, which are then formally analyzed using state exploration techniques. The objective of the analysis is to show, in a mathematical framework, that the concept of operation complies with a set of safety requirements such as absence of dead-locks, maintaining aircraft separation, and robustness with respect to the occurrence of off-nominal events. The models also serve as design tools. Indeed, they were used to configure the nominal flight procedures and the geometry of the SATS airspace.
Carreño, V., Muñoz, C. (2005). Safety Verification of the Small Aircraft Transportation System Concept of Operations, AIAA 5th Aviation, Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
A critical factor in the adoption of any new aeronautical technology or concept of operation is safety. Traditionally, safety verification is accomplished through a rigorous process that involves human factors, low and high fidelity simulations, and flight experiments. As this process is usually performed on final products or functional prototypes, concept modifications resulting from this process are very expensive to implement. This paper describes an approach to system safety that can take place at early stages of a concept design. It is based on a set of mathematical techniques and tools known as formal methods. In contrast to testing and simulation, formal methods provide the capability of exhaustive state exploration analysis. We present the safety analysis and verification performed for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Concept of Operations (ConOps). The concept of operations is modeled using discrete and hybrid mathematical models. These models are then analyzed using formal methods. The objective of the analysis is to show, in a mathematical framework, that the concept of operation complies with a set of safety requirements. It is also shown that the ConOps has some desirable characteristics such as liveness and absence of dead-lock. The analysis and verification is performed in the Prototype Verification System (PVS), which is a computer based specification language and a theorem proving assistant.
Muñoz, C., Dowek, G. (2005). Hybrid Verification of an Air Traffic Operational Concept, IEEE ISoLA Workshop on Leveraging Applications of Formal Methods, Verification, and Validation.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
A concept of operations for air traffic management consists of a set of flight rules and procedures aimed to keep aircraft safely separated. This paper reports on the formal verification of separation properties of NASA's Small Aircraft Transportation System, Higher Volume Operations (SATS HVO) concept for non-towered, non-radar airports. Based on a geometric description of the SATS HVO air space, we derive analytical formulas to compute spacing requirements on nominal approaches. Then, we model the operational concept by a hybrid non-deterministic asynchronous state transition system. Using an explicit state exploration technique, we show that the spacing requirements are always satisfied on nominal approaches. All the mathematical development presented in this paper has been formally verified in the Prototype Verification System (PVS).
Carreño, V., Muñoz, C. (2004). Implicit Intent Information for Conflict Detection and Alerting, Proceedings of the 23rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC 2004).
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
Conflict detection algorithms can be broadly classified as state based and intent based algorithms. State based algorithms predict the path of aircraft by projecting their current position and velocity vectors. The path predictions are then used to determine if the aircraft are in conflict within a look ahead time. That is, if loss of separation occurs in the future. Intent based algorithms use flight plans and other information, which usually resides in a flight management computer, to predict the path of aircraft. Algorithms that use intent information for conflict detection obtain the intent of other aircraft and broadcast their own intent via some type of communication link. Intent information that is exchanged among the aircraft is defined as explicit intent. A conflict detection algorithm can also make use of intent information based on aircraft nominal routes, corridors, published approaches, etc., and in this case, there is no information exchange between aircraft. This kind of intent is defined as implicit intent. Implicit intent can be used very effectively in conflict detection without the added cost and complexity of communication links. The use of implicit intent, in combination with state information, reduces false alarms over a state based conflict detection algorithm and therefore increases the effectiveness of the alerting system. In this paper, conflict detection using implicit intent information is described and its performance is compared with a state based conflict detection algorithm.
Consiglio, M., Muñoz, C., Carreño, V. (2004). Conflict Detection and Alerting in a Self Controlled Terminal Area, Proceedings of the 24th Congress of International Council of Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS 2004).
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
A method for Conflict Detection and Alerting (CD&A) was developed as part of the Small Aircraft Transportation System, Higher Volume Operations (SATS HVO) program at NASA Langley Research Center. The method addresses the specific problems and conditions of the concept of operations and uses a combination of state vector and procedure-based intent for conflict detection. The SATS HVO concept of operations has been developed to operate in small airports at self-controlled terminal areas in near all-weather conditions. The concept uses vehicle-to-vehicle self separation logic and centralized ground based sequencing. The self-controlled area (SCA) is a volume surrounding a SATS airport where pilots accept responsibility for self-separation. Flights operating in the SCA, during instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), are given approach sequencing information computed by a ground based automated system referred to as the Airport Management Module (AMM). All participating aircraft must be Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped and able to communicate with the AMM. This paper proposes an innovative conflict detection method that combines linear state projections and intended approach paths based on the concept of aircraft conformance to a published procedure. The conflict alerting logic implements a multi-stage, non-symmetrical technique, also based on the conformance concept, that determines the order and time in which aircraft are notified of an impending conflict. Preliminary batch simulation results have shown that the proposed CD&A technique is as effective as a purely state based logic but issues significantly less false alarms. High fidelity batch simulations and human-in-the-loop experiments are underway to further assess the concept's performance.
Muñoz, C., Dowek, G., Carreño, V. (2004). Modeling and Verification of an Air Traffic Concept of Operations, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Software Testing and Analysis (ISTTA 2004).
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
A high level model of the concept of operations of NASA's Small Aircraft Transportation System for Higher Volume Operations (SATS-HVO) is presented. The model is a non-deterministic, asynchronous transition system. It provides a robust notion of safety that relies on the logic of the concept rather than on physical constraints such as aircraft performances. Several safety properties were established on this model. The modeling and verification effort resulted in the identification of 9 issues, including one major flaw, in the original concept. Ten recommendations were made to the SATS-HVO concept development working group. All the recommendations were accepted and incorporated into the current concept of operations. The model was written in PVS. The verification is performed using an explicit state exploration algorithm written and proven correct in PVS.
Dowek, G., Muñoz, C., Carreño, V. (2004). Abstract Model of the SATS Concept of Operations: Initial Results and Recommendations, Technical Memorandum, NASA/TM-2004-213006.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
An abstract mathematical model of the concept of operations for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) is presented. The Concept of Operations consist of several procedures that describe nominal operations for SATS, Several safety properties of the system are proven using formal techniques. The final goal of the verification effort is to show that under nominal operations, aircraft are safely separated. The abstract model was written and formally verified in the Prototype Verification System (PVS).
Carreño, V., Gottliebsen, H., Butler, R., Kalvala, (2004). Formal Modeling and Analysis of a Preliminary Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Concept , Technical Memorandum, NASA/TM-2004-212999.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
New concepts for automating air traffic management functions at small non-towered airports raise serious safety issues associated with the software implementations and their underlying key algorithms. The criticality of such software systems necessitates that strong guarantees of safety be developed for them. In this paper we present a formal method for modeling and verifying such systems using the PVS theorem proving system. The method is demonstrated on a preliminary concept of operation for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) project at NASA Langley.
Carreño, V. (2003). Concept for Multiple Operations at Non-Tower Non-Radar Airports During Instrument Meteorological Conditions, Proceeding of the 22nd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC 2003), Indianapolis, Indiana, October 2003
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
A concept for multiple operations during Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) at non-tower, non-radar airports is described. The objective is to provide an automated service which supports separation assurance for aircraft operating in the airport airspace. This type of service enables the use of a large number of airfields which currently have limited use in IMC. The service must be provided with minimal infrastructure and at low cost. The concept is based on a centralized automated airport management module and distributed, on-board navigation tools. The airport management module serves as an arbiter and sequencer. It receives requests from aircraft via a data link and grants or denies access. The airport management module also provides estimated times of arrival when access is granted and an "expect further clearance" time when access is denied. On-board avionics tools provide situational awareness and generate advisories to be able to meet estimated times of interval. The concept is being developed such that operations into and out of the non-tower, non-radar airport are compatible with the existing National Airspace System (NAS). A system simulation has been developed based on this concept. This article describes the system functionality, system requirements, and operations. Preliminary results of the system simulation with various aircraft mixes, wind speed and directions, and arrival rates are presented. The work presented in this paper does not describe the SATS HVO concept of operations based on Small Aircraft Transportation System (2003). It is a feasibility study and used to develop methods for verification.
- Concepts Documents (Click to View/Collapse)
Boeing: Flight Path for the Future of Mobility. Boeing Technical Paper, 2018.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
As an aviation pioneer and industry leader, Boeing supports the growth of the global economy with aircraft and services to move people, goods and ideas around the world. As we enter our second century, Boeing is focusing on emerging technologies, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations and the safe introduction of these vehicles into the airspace—while preserving the flying public’s confidence in air travel.
With increasing urbanization, a growing global population, aging infrastructure and the explosion of ecommerce, there is a need for new, sustainable and accessible modes of transportation. Urban air mobility (UAM) presents an opportunity to provide seamless, safe and rapid transportation to mitigate existing and future challenges faced by urban areas.
Some studies forecast the UAM market will be worth tens of billions of dollars across the value chain. The promise of UAM has led to numerous industry efforts; today, there are over 100 vehicles in various stages of development globally. In addition to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), other parts of the UAM value chain will include passenger operations, UAS traffic management, operations and maintenance, infrastructure, insurance and financing.
While the players and structure of the market continue to evolve, it will likely include a range of solutions operated by various operators, unlocked by business models that include ride-sharing. This growth will be facilitated by key enablers, including airspace integration, infrastructure expansion, market acceptance, seamless integration into connected mobility systems and a wide range of other ecosystem elements—many of which are yet to be imagined.
Advances in autonomy, artificial intelligence, data analytics, hybrid and fully electric propulsion have unlocked new possibilities that are guiding us to reimagine travel and transportation. We are working with regulators around the world to enable the next generation of unmanned aviation.
Concept of Operations v1.0 for Urban Air Mobility. FAA Technical Report, 2020.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NextGen Office developed this Concept of Operations for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) (ConOps 1.0) to describe the envisioned operational environment that supports the expected growth of flight operations in and around urban areas. UAM is a subset of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), FAA, and industry initiative to develop an air transportation system that moves people and cargo between local, regional, intraregional, and urban places previously not served or underserved by aviation using revolutionary new aircraft. While AAM supports a wide range of passenger, cargo, and other operations within and between urban and rural environments, UAM focuses on the transition from the traditional management of air traffic operations to the future passenger or cargo-carrying air transportation services within an urban environment.
The envisioned future state for UAM operations includes increasing levels of autonomy and operational tempo across a range of environments including major metropolitan areas and the surrounding suburbs. As described in stakeholder sessions, the mature state operations will be achieved at scale through a crawl-walk-run approach, wherein:
1. Initial UAM operations are conducted using new vehicle types that have been certified to fly within the current regulatory and operational environment.
2. Higher tempo UAM operations are supported through regulatory evolution and UAM Corridors that leverage collaborative separation methodologies.
3. New operational rules and infrastructure facilitate highly automated traffic management enabling remotely piloted and autonomous vehicles to safely operate at increased operational tempos.
This document defines the UAM operating environment in the context of Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM). This document presents the ATM vision to support initial UAM operations. UAM ConOps 1.0 does not prescribe specific solutions, detailed operational procedures, or implementation methods except as examples to support a fuller understanding of the elements associated with UAM operations.
The UAM ConOps implementation is an evolutionary approach and includes engagement with NASA and industry and community stakeholders. This version captures the combined thoughts of industry, NASA, and the FAA of how operations may be conducted in the future and is still in need of test, validation, and verification before becoming a more established description. Future versions of this concept will be developed to reflect the outcomes of analyses, trials, concept maturation, and collaboration that arise from these initial thoughts.
Lascara, B., Spencer, T., DeGarmo, M., Lacher, A., Maroney, D., Guterres, M. (2018). Urban Air Mobility Landscape Report. MITRE Technical Paper.
> View Abstract (Click to Expand/Collapse)
This report provides an overview and initial examination of Urban Air Mobility, an emerging form of air transportation service in low-altitude airspace. It addresses six main questions: What Is Urban Air Mobility (UAM)? What is enabling this new industry? Who are some major participants in UAM? What are the challenges to enabling UAM operations? When will we see UAM operations? Why does this matter? We expect the industry vision to evolve as technologies are matured and policies are enacted.
Pioneering the Urban Air Taxi Revolution. Volocopter Whitepaper, 2019.
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The next decade is forecast to be the greatest period of urban migration in human history. By 2030, more than 60 % of the world’s population will live in cities. Ground infrastructure, which is already operating at full capacity in many areas, is struggling to keep up with this urban growth. We believe that one answer to the challenges of urbanization is to take to the sky and unleash air travel in urban environments as a viable alternative to ground transportation.
In this article we will make a case for why we at Volocopter believe that we are on the cusp of a technological revolution enabling urban air mobility (UAM) at scale. We will focus on the requirements for the urban air taxi mission and discuss how we specifically designed the Volocopter, our electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with this mission in mind.
It is important to note that, in this discussion, we will focus on the intra-city transportation use case: flying passengers within cities, where the greatest pain points will be alleviated. We will not be addressing the requirements for high-speed regional shuttles, which will ferry passengers between metropolitan regions.
UBER Elevate: Fast-Forwarding to a Future of On-Demand Urban Air Transportation. Uber Technical Paper, 2016.
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This document covers UBER's involvement in Urban Air Transportation; it discusses 1) vehicle details such as safety, noise, emissions, performance, and certification, 2) infrastructure and operations, 3) rider experience, 4) economics, and 5) next steps.
Lascara, B., Lacher, A., DeGarmo, M.,Maroney, D., Niles, F., Vempati, L. (2019). Urban Air Mobility Airspace Integration Concepts. MITRE Technical Paper.
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Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an industry term used to describe the system that enables on-demand, highly automated, passenger- or cargo-carrying air transportation services within and around a metropolitan environment. The industry vision involves leveraging new vehicle designs and system technologies, developing new airspace management constructs and operational procedures, and embracing the sharing and services economy to enable a new transportation service network.
Aircraft manufacturers and service providers expect to use electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technologies to enable runway-independent operations. They also expect to operate with very high degrees of automation, up to and including fully self-piloted aircraft. Most operators envision an on-demand service, enabling growth up to 100s or 1,000s of simultaneous operations around a metropolitan region at altitudes up to 5,000 feet and speeds up to 150 knots. These aircraft would carry cargo or 1-5 passengers on short-range trips (e.g. less than 100 km).
These operational characteristics will prevent an immediate deployment of full-scale UAM operations since existing airspace procedures, regulations, policies, and structures will not necessarily accommodate the envisioned operations. As an example, without an on-board pilot, compliance with visual flight rules and see and avoid requirements will not be feasible. Most proponents propose operating at a limited scale, some even proposing to begin with pilots in the aircraft much like current day helicopter operations, until the necessary constructs evolve to enable high-density self-piloted operations.
This paper explores the challenges of integrating highly automated UAM operations into the National Airspace System (NAS). It then presents some operational concepts that could enable safe integration of UAM into the NAS. The described concepts are not intended to define the exact solution space for future operations. However, this framework can serve as a starting point for concept evaluations, which then inform the development of systems and solutions that enable initial operations.
Verma, S., Keeler, J., Edwards, T., Dulchinos, V. (2019). Exploration of Near-term Potential Routes and Procedures of Urban Air Mobility.In AIAA Aviation 2019 Forum (p. 3624).
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This paper investigates routes and procedures for Urban Air Mobility (UAM), which aims to reduce congestion on the roads and highways by offering air taxi as an alternative to driving. The routes and procedures being explored are current-day helicopter routes along with different communication procedures that are available as tools in the near-term. Three different levels of UAM traffic were evaluated in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area. The current-day helicopter routes were modified to separate them from traditional traffic, and a Letter of Agreement (LOA) was introduced in some of the conditions to reduce verbal communications. We found that modifications to the routes and introduction of LOA helped increase the number of UAM flights that the controllers reported they could manage and reduce their communications, which made controller self-reported workload more operationally acceptable. However, the self-reported workload experienced by busy airport towers cannot be effectively managed via the usage of LOA and modified helicopter routes, suggesting there is an opportunity to re-think roles and responsibilities of the UAM system participants.
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