effects of automation in the aircraft cockpit environment
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Skill Degradation Situation Awareness Workload. Effects of Automation in the Aircraft Cockpit Environment. Group #1: Julian Archer Hambisa Keno Yul Kwon. Automation Overview. What is Automation? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Effects of Automation in the Aircraft Cockpit Environment
Group #1: Julian Archer Hambisa Keno Yul Kwon
Skill DegradationSituation Awareness
Workload
Automation OverviewWhat is Automation?
• Automation is any system component that removes the necessity for direct human control of certain processes (Sherman, 1997)
Types of Automation
1. Control
2. Warnings and Alerts
3. Information
Automation OverviewEarly Stage
Automation OverviewMajor Transition
Automation OverviewCurrent
Automation OverviewBenefits of Automation?• Reduces workload and fatigue
• Precision in the handling of routine tasks
• Reliability
• Increased efficiency and productivity
• Economical utilization of machine
Skill DegradationOverview
• Inherent disadvantage of manual flying skill decay through non-practice
Manual Flying Skills
1. Psychomotor skills o Observable e.g. physical actions
I'm planning, don't disturb me!
2. Cognitive skillso Hidden e.g. mental actions
Psychomotor Skill Degradation
• Performance decay is present regardless of time-lapse between training
• Performance quickly returns to a proficiency of 75% in 5 minutes of practice (Ammons et al., 1958)
J. M. Childs, Spears, & Prophet, 1983
Skill Degradation
Cognitive Skill Degradation
• Cognitive processing is a crucial skill involved in every aspect of flighto Mental models help!
• Over-reliance of the automation inhibits the pilot’s ability to develop robust mental models for manually aircraft control (Ebbatson, 2009)
The series model of pilot control (adapted from McRuer, 1982)
Skill Degradation
General Evidence for Skill Degradation
(Adapted from Research Integrations Inc., 1997-2007)
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 50
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Rating Strength of Existing Evidence
# of
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1
Skill Degradation
Accident Analysis Data
•Skill-Based Errorso Visual scanning
breakdownso Poor techniqueo Over-controlling the aircraft
•NTSB Accident recordso Commercial Aviationo 1990 -1996
•63.6% of aircraft accidentso ≥ 1 skill-based erroro Constant over 7-year
periodShappel & Wiegmann, (2000)
Skill Degradation
Case study of Colgan Air Flight 3407
• February 12th, 2009
• Continental Connection
• Bombardier Dash-8 Q400
Skill Degradation
Situation AwarenessWhy Situation Awareness
• The most frequent causal factor of all accidents (41 percent) was lack of positional awareness in the air.
o (UK CAA Global Fatal Accident Review 1980 - 2007)
• The second most common primary causal factor was “lack of positional awareness in the air,” generally resulting in controlled flight into terrain
o (Flight Safety Digest December 2004–March 2005. Special FSF Report: Killers in Aviation)
(Adapted from Research Integrations Inc., 1997-2007)
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Rating Strength of Existing Evidence
# of
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Situation AwarenessWhat is Situation Awareness?
“…the perception of the elements in the
environment within a volume of time
and space, the comprehension of their
meaning, and the projection of their
status in the near future”.
(Mica Endsley, 1988)
Situation AwarenessLevels of Situation Awareness
• Seek and combine data into
meaningful information (Level 1 : perception)
• Understand what the information
means (Level 2 : comprehension)
• Use your understanding to think
ahead and reconsider the plan
(Level 3 : projection)
Feedback, check, monitor
Scanning
Gathering data
1
Understanding
Comparison with
mental models
2Thinking ahead
Updating the model
3
Situation AwarenessWhat Factors Reduce Situation Awareness?
• Workload
• Degraded operating conditions
• Pattern Recognition
• Crew issue
• Communication
• Attention
Situation AwarenessHow does Automation Impact Loss of SA?
• Vigilance, Complacency and Monitoring
• Active vs. Passive Role
• Feedback
• Lack of understanding of automation
Sometimes you see only half of the picturebut need all of it to understand the situation
Workload
Humans have limited capacity for:
• Processing information. (display, alarm, communication, documentation)
• Holding items in memory
• Making decisions
• Performing tasks
Workload
Excess Workload can result in human performance issues such as:
• Slower task performance• Errors such as slips, lapses and
mistakes
Under-load can result in:
• Boredom• Loss of situation awareness• reduced alertness
Workload
Measures of Workload
• Subjective Ratings• Physiological Measures• Performance measures
Workload
Multi Attribute Task Battery (MATB)
• System Monitoring
• Tracking
• Communications
• Resource management
Workload
The Irony of Automation
Counterproductive workload consequences of automation where;
• Automation increases workload when already at its peak
• Lowers workload when pilots are under-loaded
Workload
Role Transition
Automation has resulted in transition of pilot role from controlling to monitoring
• Results in excessive increase in cognitive demand
• Humans are ill-suited for monitoring and will perform poorly
Workload
Cognitive Overhead
• Performing extensive cognitive evaluation of the benefit of automation against cost of performing it manually
WorkloadGeneral Evidence for Workload Issues
(Adapted from Research Integrations Inc., 1997-2007)
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Rating Strength of Existing Evidence
# of
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2
• 82 documents addressed the impact of automation on workload
• 42 of these documents asserted automation can have adverse effect on pilot workload
ConclusionAccident Statistics vs.Phases of Flight
Distribution of fatal accidents by flight phase for 1998-2007 (Boeing, 2008)
ConclusionAddressing Skill Degradation
• Manual handling recency
• Challenges
o Operating procedures require automation
o Pilots flying Internationally are conscious of their lack of flying proficiency
Rely on automation
o Pilots are mission-oriented
Take ControlFlip the Switch
Conclusion• Augmented Displays Display that improves upon reality by superimposing info over actual environment
Conclusion• Automations to improve SA
Design improvements - Display design capitalizing on spatial relationships
ConclusionAddressing Workload Issues
• Automation should allow for maintenance of optimal workload level (neither too high nor too low)
• Assessment of workload under automation should consider both steady state and transient operating conditions
• Task redistribution between team members offsets workload; automation driven single pilot operation concept needs to be approached with caution
ConclusionAddressing Workload Issues
• Automation workload assessment should consider visual and auditory input, cognitive activity and psychomotor skills
• The 4D resource theory can be used as a design input while developing human-machine interfaces to reduce pilot workload
ConclusionTask Allocation Strategies
• Design Time (Static) System designer sets the level of automation.
• Adaptive AutomationContextual allocation based on performance tracking
• Adaptable AutomationAutomation is a subordinatethat collaborates with thehuman.
ConclusionTasking Interface for Adaptable Automation
• User Interface
• Analysis and Planning Component
ConclusionProof of Concept for Adaptive Automation
Questions?