Influence of a Perspective Cockpit Traffic Display Format on Pilot Avoidance Maneuvers

Stephen R. Ellis; Michael W. McGreevy

doi:10.1177/154193128302700902

Influence of a Perspective Cockpit Traffic Display Format on Pilot Avoidance Maneuvers

Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193128302700902 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 27 (9) ◽

pp. 762-766 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Stephen R. Ellis ◽

Michael W. McGreevy

Keyword(s):

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Air Traffic ◽

Vertical Dimension ◽

Traffic Information ◽

Perspective Projection ◽

Vertical Separation ◽

Plan View ◽

Display Format ◽

Airline Pilots ◽

Cockpit Displays

Laboratory experiments have examined perspective projections of Cockpit Displays of Traffic Information (CDTI) on CRTs as a means of presenting vertical separation information to airline pilots. Ten airline pilots served as subjects in an experiment comparing the perspective projection with plan-view projections of the same air traffic situations. Comparison of the patterns of pilots' avoidance maneuvers made when using the perspective traffic display with those made while using more conventional plan-view displays has shown that pilots maneuvered somewhat earlier with perspective displays. And when they did, they maneuvered more frequently in the vertical dimension. Thus, the previously observed bias to maneuver horizontally is probably not based on the “procedural reasons” often given. It probably refects the poorer presentation of vertical separation on previously used traffic displays.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Effect of Perceived Threat on Avoidance Maneuvers Selected While Viewing Cockpit Traffic Displays

Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193128202600904 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 26 (9) ◽

pp. 772-776 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. D. Smith ◽

Stephen R. Ellis

Keyword(s):

Collision Avoidance ◽

Air Traffic ◽

Traffic Information ◽

Perceived Threat ◽

Airline Pilots ◽

Cockpit Displays ◽

Threat Level

Ten airline pilots rated the collision danger of air traffic presented on cockpit displays of traffic information (CDTI) while they monitored simulated departures from Denver. They selected avoidance maneuvers when necessary for separation. Most evasive maneuvers were turns rather than vertical maneuvers. Evasive maneuvers chosen for encounters with low or moderate perceived collision danger were generally toward the intruding aircraft. This tendency lessened as the perceived threat level increased. In the highest threat situations pilots turned toward the intruder only at chance levels. Some of the implications of the pilots' turning-towards tendencies are discussed with respect to automatic collision avoidance systems and coordination of avoidance maneuvers of conflicting aircraft.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Contingency in Visual Scanning of Cockpit Traffic Displays

Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193128202601122 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 26 (11) ◽

pp. 1005-1009 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen R. Ellis

Keyword(s):

Statistical Method ◽

Random Sampling ◽

Visual Information ◽

Traffic Information ◽

Stratified Random Sampling ◽

Position Information ◽

Airline Pilots ◽

Points Of Interest ◽

Cockpit Displays ◽

Visual Fixations

A statistical method to identify reliable, repetitive scanning patterns in the positions of visual fixations has been developed and applied to data from 8 airline pilots who monitored cockpit displays of traffic information (CDTI). Their fixational transition patterns between points of interest on the display showed deterministic, statistical dependencies generally associated with symbols predicting future aircraft position. These dependencies constitute deviations from stratified random sampling of the visual information on the display, confirm the importance of future aircraft position information for the use of CDTI, and provide objective support for the existence of “scanpaths” in visual fixation patterns.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Responses of Pilots and Nonpilots to Color-coded Altitude Information in a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193129303700121 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 84-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dennis B. Beringer ◽

Robert C. Allen ◽

Keith A. Kozak ◽

Grant E. Young

Keyword(s):

Traffic Information ◽

Color Coding ◽

Perspective View ◽

Depth Of Penetration ◽

Traditional Use ◽

Plan View ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Cockpit Displays ◽

Effective Use ◽

Tracking Behavior

The effective use of cockpit displays of traffic information is largely dependent upon the degree to which vertical status and trend information can be presented simply and unambiguously to the pilot. The traditional use of plan-view displays has been challenged by other representations, each having its own unique advantages and disadvantages. Although perspective-view displays, for example, may be very useful, they suffer from potential overlaid symbology causing obscuration or clutter along specific viewing vectors. An alternate approach is to use color encoding techniques to represent vertical trend information in a plan-view horizontal situation display. Static and dynamic color coding techniques were used in such a display where stratified vertical sectors were represented by stereotypic colors (green/safe; yellow/caution; red/danger) with an additional color cue for intruder above/below. The static representation depicted the symbol in the appropriate color or a 50/50 combination of colors to represent transitions between zones. The dynamic presentation used a continuously changing ratio of colors within the symbol to show this same transition between altitude zones as an attempt to provide rate and depth-of-penetration cues. Performances of nonpilots and pilots using these displays were obtained in a simulation setting and compared with performances obtained using numeric/symbolic encoding of the same information. The color-encoded conditions generally produced faster and more accurate classification responses than did the numeric/symbolic condition. Pilot course tracking behavior, however, was not affected differentially across display formats.

Get full-text (via PubEx)