Management of radar tracking systems for air traffic control

Operators that monitor and control dynamic displays (air traffic control [ATC], naval radar tracking) sometimes fail to remember to perform deferred tasks. Such memory failures have been studied in the laboratory, but only recently applied to tasks such as ATC ( Loft & Remington, 2010 ; Loft, Finnerty, & Remington, 2011 ; Loft, Smith, & Bhaskara, 2011 ). In work domains such as ATC, operators must often consider multiple display features before determining an action. The current study examined the effect of varying the number of aircraft display features that individuals need to process for the prospective memory (PM) task. Participants made more PM errors, and were slower to make aircraft acceptance decisions and to detect conflicts, when the PM task required that target aircraft satisfied one of the two possible conditions, compared to only one possible condition. Directions for research are discussed that should continue to bridge the gap between PM in basic and applied settings.

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Workload Perception of Air Traffic Control Officers and Pilots During Continuous Descent Operations Approach Procedures

Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors ◽

10.1027/2192-0923/a000154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 2-11

Author(s):

Marina Efthymiou ◽

Frank Fichert ◽

Olaf Lantzsch

Keyword(s):

Fuel Consumption ◽

Traffic Control ◽

Air Traffic Control ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Air Traffic ◽

Reduce Fuel Consumption ◽

Total Load ◽

Open Path

Abstract. The paper examines the workload perceived by air traffic control officers (ATCOs) and pilots during continuous descent operations (CDOs), applying closed- and open-path procedures. CDOs reduce fuel consumption and noise emissions. Therefore, they are supported by airports as well as airlines. However, their use often depends on pilots asking for CDOs and controllers giving approval and directions. An adapted NASA Total Load Index (TLX) was used to measure the workload perception of ATCOs and pilots when applying CDOs at selected European airports. The main finding is that ATCOs’ workload increased when giving both closed- and open-path CDOs, which may have a negative impact on their willingness to apply CDOs. The main problem reported by pilots was insufficient distance-to-go information provided by ATCOs. The workload change is important when considering the use of CDOs.

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How to Evaluate Remote Tower Metrics in Connection With Weather Observations

Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors ◽

10.1027/2192-0923/a000142 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 100-111 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maik Friedrich ◽

Christoph Möhlenbrink

Keyword(s):

Traffic Control ◽

Air Traffic Control ◽

Influential Factors ◽

Air Traffic ◽

Weather Event ◽

Evaluation Of Performance ◽

Weather Events ◽

Weather Observations ◽

Validation Experiment ◽

Remote Controller

Abstract. Owing to the different approaches for remote tower operation, a standardized set of indicators is needed to evaluate the technical implementations at a task performance level. One of the most influential factors for air traffic control is weather. This article describes the influence of weather metrics on remote tower operations and how to validate them against each other. Weather metrics are essential to the evaluation of different remote controller working positions. Therefore, weather metrics were identified as part of a validation at the Erfurt-Weimar Airport. Air traffic control officers observed weather events at the tower control working position and the remote control working position. The eight participating air traffic control officers answered time-synchronized questionnaires at both workplaces. The questionnaires addressed operationally relevant weather events in the aerodrome. The validation experiment targeted the air traffic control officer’s ability to categorize and judge the same weather event at different workplaces. The results show the potential of standardized indicators for the evaluation of performance and the importance of weather metrics in relation to other evaluation metrics.

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