Human Factors Evaluation of ATC Operational Procedures in Relation to Use of 3D Display

Abstract

In this paper, Holding Stack Management (HSM), Continuous Climb Operations (CCO), Continuous Descent Operations (CDO), and Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) procedures are assessed in relation to the use of an additional 3D display. Two display seetings are compared, namely 2D+3D and 2D only. Twelve Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) took part in the experiment. Traditional questionnaires such as NASA TLX, TRUST, etc. were given at the end of each 30-minute trial for each display setting. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded during the experiments to continuously monitor the changes of the brain states of the ATCOs. The results of the data analyses show that by using 2D+3D display setting, more positive emotions, but higher stress and workload levels were experienced by ATCOs in TBO, CCO and CDO procedures than in 2D setting. In HSM, reduced stress and significantly lower cognitive workload were experienced by ATCOs when they were using 2D+3D setting.