Evaluation of Current and Near Future ATC Systems in the Field and in Simulations

Abstract

This paper summarises the results of the European project SRA TM. The research was expected to forward conclusions to the central question whether future A TC systems will reduce strain compared to current systems under today's maximum traffic load and under traffic increases expected for the future. In addition, the comparison between the results from the local study and those obtained in simulations under the same traffic conditions was expected to provide infonnation about the validity of simulations. The particularity of this project was that measurements during work (in the field) were combined with those in a simulation. Data from physiological measurements, objective flight data and questionnaires were gathered. The results clearly indicate, that an increase in traffic will lead to an increase of strain/workload even with future system technology, although the negative impact on the controllers working situation was partly compensated using future systems. The evaluation of the simulator effect showed no difference between the strain in real traffic conditions and the simulation environment.