scholarly journals The Impact of Automation on Air Traffic Controller’s Behaviors

Aerospace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
Yanjun Wang ◽  
Rongjin Hu ◽  
Siyuan Lin ◽  
Michael Schultz ◽  
Daniel Delahaye
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Task Load ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Automation Tools ◽  
The Impact

Air traffic controllers have to make quick decisions to keep air traffic safe. Their behaviors have a significant impact on the operation of the air traffic management (ATM) system. Automation tools have enhanced the ATM system’s capability by reducing the controller’s task-load. Much attention has been devoted to developing advanced automation in the last decade. However, less is known about the impact of automation on the behaviors of air traffic controllers. Here, we empirically tested the effects of three levels of automation—including manual, attention-guided, and automated—as well as varying traffic levels on eye movements, situation awareness and mental workload. The results showed that there are significant differences in the gaze and saccade behaviors between the attention-guided group and automated group. Traffic affected eye movements under the manual mode or under the attention-guided mode, but had no effect on eye movements under the automated mode. The results also supported the use of automation for enhancing situation awareness while reducing mental workload. Our work has potential implications for the design of automation and operation procedures.

scholarly journals Air Traffic Control Capacity Planning Under Demand and Capacity Provision Uncertainty

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 882-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Starita ◽  
Arne K. Strauss ◽  
Xin Fei ◽  
Radosav Jovanović ◽  
Nikola Ivanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Capacity Planning ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Fixed Number ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Decomposition Approach ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
The Impact

In air traffic management, a fundamental decision with large cost implications is the planning of future capacity provision. Here, capacity refers to the available man-hours of air traffic controllers to monitor traffic. Airspace can be partitioned in various ways into a collection of sectors, and each sector has a fixed maximum number of flights that may enter within a given time period. Each sector also requires a fixed number of man-hours to be operated; we refer to them as sector-hours. Capacity planning usually takes place a long time ahead of the day of operation to ensure that sufficiently many air traffic controllers are available to manage the flow of aircrafts. However, at the time of planning, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the number and spatiotemporal distribution of nonscheduled flights and capacity provision, the former mainly due to business aviation, and the latter usually stemming from the impact of weather, military use of airspaces, etc. Once the capacity decision has been made (in terms of committing to a budget of sector-hours per airspace to represent long-term staff scheduling), on the day of operation, we can influence traffic by enforcing rerouting and tactical delays. Furthermore, we can modify which sectors to open at a given time (the so-called sector-opening scheme) subject to the fixed capacity budgets in each airspace. The fundamental trade-off is between reducing the capacity provision cost at the expense of potentially increasing displacement cost arising from rerouting or delays. To tackle this, we propose a scalable decomposition approach that exploits the structure of the problem and can take traffic and capacity provision uncertainty into account by working with a large number of traffic scenarios. We propose several decision policies based on the resulting pool of solutions and test them numerically using real-world data.

scholarly journals MENTAL WORKLOAD OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) PERSONNEL AT ADISUTJIPTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Vortex ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Via Choirul Seftiyana
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Mental Demand ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
The Right ◽  
A Company

Air traffic controllers are under excessive stress because of their job. This has been linked to aspects of ATC work such as high job demands, time or responsibility pressure, or inadequate equipment. Types of work that require more vigilance, such as air traffic controllers at airports, are closely related to mental jobs that require high concentration. Because there is a negative impact on a company if it gives mental workload too high or too low for its employees, it is necessary to measure it to find out the right mental workload for its employees. This study aims to calculate the mental workload felt by ATC personnel in the APP unit. Measurement of mental workload in this study using the NASA-TLX (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index). This method measures 6 (six) dimensions of workload size, namely Mental Demand, Physical Demand, Temporal Demand, Performance, Effort and Frustation Level

scholarly journals Unravelling the Physiological Correlates of Mental Workload Variations in Tracking and Collision Prediction Tasks: Implications for Air Traffic Controllers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alka Rachel John ◽  
Avinash K Singh ◽  
Tien-Thong Nguyen Do ◽  
Ami Eidels ◽  
Eugene Nalivaiko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Collision Prediction ◽  
Size Number ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg

AbstractObjectiveWe have designed tracking and collision prediction tasks to elucidate the differences in the physiological response to the workload variations in basic ATC tasks to untangle the impact of workload variations experienced by operators working in a complex ATC environment.BackgroundEven though several factors influence the complexity of ATC tasks, keeping track of the aircraft and preventing collision are the most crucial.MethodsPhysiological measures, such as electroencephalogram (EEG), eye activity, and heart rate variability (HRV) data, were recorded from 24 participants performing tracking and collision prediction tasks with three levels of difficulty.ResultsThe neurometrics of workload variations in the tracking and collision prediction tasks were markedly distinct, indicating that neurometrics can provide insights on the type of mental workload. The pupil size, number of blinks and HRV metric, root mean square of successive difference (RMSSD), varied significantly with the mental workload in both these tasks in a similar manner.ConclusionOur findings indicate that variations in task load are sensitively reflected in physiological signals, such as EEG, eye activity and HRV, in these basic ATC-related tasks.ApplicationThese findings have applicability to the design of future mental workload adaptive systems that integrate neurometrics in deciding not just ‘when’ but also ‘what’ to adapt. Our study provides compelling evidence in the viability of developing intelligent closed-loop mental workload adaptive systems that ensure efficiency and safety in ATC and beyond.PrécisThis article identifies the physiological correlates of mental workload variation in basic ATC tasks. The findings assert that neurometrics can provide more information on the task that contributes to the workload, which can aid in the design of intelligent mental workload adaptive system.

The Impact of Plateau Airport's Environment on Air Traffic Controller's Situation Awareness

2013 ◽  
Vol 779-780 ◽  
pp. 903-907
Author(s):  
Wei Jun Pan ◽  
Dan Wu ◽  
Na Lu
Keyword(s):  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
The Core ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Aviation Transportation ◽  
The Impact

The operation of plateau airport is the major problem for the development of China civil aviation transportation. Situation awareness (SA) research is of great importance to the improvement of air traffic controllers training and air traffic safety of plateau airport. First of all, the concept of SA as well as SA assessment methods was introduced in this paper. According to the summation of plateau airport situation, the impact of exposure to plateau environment on controllers SA was analyzed in details. Finally, it reveals what the trend of research on air traffic controllers SA is and what the core problems to be solved are.

Developing a Decision Support Interface for Surface Domain Air Traffic Controllers

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Martin ◽  
Savita Verma ◽  
Deborah Ballinger ◽  
Victor Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Work Patterns ◽  
Interface Management ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Time Simulation ◽  
Perceived Workload ◽  
Automation Tools ◽  
The Impact

The effects of advanced automation tools on the air traffic control tower environment were assessed through a real-time simulation study. One focus of the study was the impact that advanced tools would have on controllers' roles and work patterns. Participants controlled simulated traffic during 45-minute scenarios, and reported their perceived workload and experience of using a prototype automation tool. Perceived workload was significantly reduced in the advanced automation conditions, more so as the automation assumed more functions. Participants interacted a great deal with the automation in these conditions, a notable proportion of which was interface management. Despite generally liking the tool, controllers reported the automation had assumed all of their role's decision-making responsibilities and left them with mechanical tasks. It is concluded that a more artful allocation of functions is required if controllers are to be engaged in their task when using advanced automation tools.

A Simulation Environment for Analyzing the Impact of Volcanic Ash on Trajectory-Based Air Traffic Management

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Schmitt ◽  
Ruzica Vujasinovic ◽  
Christiane Edinger ◽  
Julia Zillies ◽  
Vilmar Mollwitz
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Management ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Air Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Simulation Environment ◽  
The Impact

Impact of UAS with Low Size, Weight, and Power Sensors on Air Traffic Controllers’ Performance and Acceptability Ratings

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-158
Author(s):  
Kim-Phuong L. Vu ◽  
Jonathan VanLuven ◽  
Timothy Diep ◽  
Vernol Battiste ◽  
Summer Brandt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Traffic ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Detection Range ◽  
Human In The Loop ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Low Altitude ◽  
Sector Performance ◽  
The Impact

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.

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