The Automation of Air Traffic Control

1975 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-30
Author(s):  
Jacques Villiers

Experience gained in the automation of air traffic control is of interest from more than one point of view, and not only because of the range and diversity of new and delicate problems to which this application of automation has given rise, and for which it is necessary to find simultaneous solutions. It has been necessary to design and develop new methods for the acquisition, processing and display of information and to link them with digital computers, for which a complex and voluminous ‘real-time’ software has had to be compiled and brought up to date without interrupting the procedure. But it is when it comes to visualizing the total pattern that the most difficult problems arise because the major decisions determining the success or failure of the operation have had to be taken without the possibility of acquiring any preliminary experience.Man and the computer have to work together in real time as harmoniously as possible to obtain the best results from the modern data processing systems that it was proposed to employ; it was therefore essential to consider very deeply the complementary roles which each was intended to play.To describe this research in detail or the solutions arrived at would not be of great interest to those other than specialists.

1983 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Vidulich ◽  
Yei-Yu Yeh ◽  
Walter Schneider

The study tested guidelines for the use of microprocessors in training spatial skills for air traffic control. The central issue was the use of time-compressed simulation to aid the development of skill in identifying turn points and rollout headings for aircraft. Two groups of subjects were used. One group trained with a real-time simulation of the task, while the second group trained with a time-compressed version of the task running about 20 times as fast as real-time trials. Both groups were then tested in real-time trials. The results indicate that time compresssion can be a useful technique for increasing the efficiency of training.


1967 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-187
Author(s):  
J. Villiers

As a general rule the navigational function is aimed at determining the position of the aircraft in order to resolve three types of problem:(1) To subject the aircraft's flight path to an optimum trajectory calculated before departure or progressively adapted in course of flight to the circumstances encountered.(2) To choose at each point of the selected flight path the flight system best adapted to the safety and economy of the flight.(3) Taking into account the presence of other aircraft in the airspace, to know and make known the actual position and the information allowing provision to be made for future positions, so as to permit effective air traffic control.Departures of the actual from the chosen flight path penalize the flight by a lowering of economy (in flying time or fuel consumption). It does not seem, however, that the problems raised from this point of view by S.S.T. are by nature or in difficulty any different from those which affect conventional aircraft. Taking into account the present-day precision of navigational aids there is every reason to believe that departures of the actual flight path from the optimum flight path will introduce a penalization which it is possible to ignore when compared with the penalization due to the inaccuracy of the knowledge of the elements (winds, temperatures, pressures) which have, in fact, served to determine this optimum flight path.


Author(s):  
Jonny Kuo ◽  
Michael G. Lenné ◽  
Rama Myers ◽  
Anna Collard-Scruby ◽  
Courtney Jaeger ◽  
...  

This study examined the utility of continuous operator state monitoring in predicting air traffic control officer (ATCO) workload and fatigue. Participants (N=8) were observed in live operational air traffic control environments for 60-minute periods. ATCO state was assessed using a real-time, computer vision-based system which tracked operator gaze and pupil diameter. Workload and fatigue were also assessed via the adapted Bedford Workload Scale and Samn-Perelli Fatigue Scale, respectively. Standard deviation of gaze was a significant predictor of both max and mean workload, showing a strong negative relationship with both subjective measures. Pupil diameter showed a significant positive relationship with operator fatigue. Our findings demonstrate the utility of continuous ocular metrics of workload and fatigue in operational environments.


Author(s):  
Cyril Onwubiko ◽  
Thomas Owens

The importance of situational awareness to air traffic control, and hence the safety and security of aircraft, is evident, demonstrable, and has been hugely significant. The main purpose of this book is to convey an understanding of the impact of situational awareness on the design of the next generation computer systems, network architectures, and platform infrastructures. The book achieves its purpose by presenting principles, methods, and applications of situational awareness for computer network defense; in doing so, it makes clear the benefits situational awareness can provide for information security, computer security and computer network defense. This book contributes to cross-multidisciplinary discussion among researchers, academia, and practitioners who are engaged objectively in sharing, contributing, and showcasing how situational awareness can be adapted to computer systems, network infrastructure designs, and architecture patterns. The goal of this chapter is to explain situational awareness for computer network defense from the point of view of its most basic foundations as a spring board to discuss how situational awareness can be relevant to computer network defense, whose operations and environment are similar to air traffic control where the application of situational awareness has been hugely successful.


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