Conceptual development of an advanced air traffic controller workstation based on objective workload monitoring and augmented reality

Abstract

NextGen, SESAR, and other international projects intend to develop the coming air traffic management (ATM) environment to cope with the present problems, including e.g. capacity, efficiency, safety, and environmental impact. These projects also introduce considerable changes in the role of air traffic controllers (ATCOs), and shift some of the present tasks from ground to on-board (pilots) and diversify automation. Due to the consequential effects of these developments, (i) the models describing the present operational circumstances, (ii) the working conditions, and (iii) the working environment (e.g. human–machine interactions, task-work and mental loads, cognitive aspects, situation awareness, decision support) must be reconsidered and adapted to the future role of operators. This paper aims to describe a new approach to model the ATCOs’ working processes, and also introduces a new concept for the ATCOs’ future working environment. The developed model covers the situation awareness and decision making processes, including the subjective aspects of the ATCOs decision making based on their workload, mental condition, knowledge, or practice. The proposed new working environment contains special information displays, the decision support system and the ATCOs workload and mental condition measurement / monitoring system, based on objective, on-line, continuous, and nonintrusive measurement techniques. Some of the core systems developed in collaboration with HungaroControl were exhibited at the World ATM congress in 2014 and 2015.