An Ethnographic Approach to Human-Machine Relationships in Commercial Aviation: Heads-Up Guidance and Enhanced Vision

Abstract

This paper shows how ethnographic research methods can be valuable tools for examining complex human/automation issues in commercial aviation. Ethnography is a participant/observer technique adapted from anthropology to studying human and nonhuman actors in complex technological systems. Reaching beyond a strict dichotomy of “human” and “machine,” we instead see all human/automation interactions as deeply social. Studying the social networks embedded into automation design requires ethnographic fieldwork with not only users, but also trainers, designers, programmers, and engineers who have embedded their knowledge into a system. We present one example of this research method applied to Heads-Up Guidance Systems (HUGS) and Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS) on major passenger and cargo carriers. Preliminary results are presented to suggest several emerging themes and their implications for further research as evidence that ethnographic methods can provide insight into complex human/machine systems not available with other methods.