Use of Low Cost, Low Fidelity Mockups for Preproduction Testing

Abstract

The new technologies proposed and/or retrofitted into Navy crewstations have demonstrated increasing sophistication and flexibility. Additionally, the crewstation technologies have shown very rapid development cycles. The current approach of reliance solely on flight testing has proven inadequate because of the multitude of equipment operating modes, lack of experimental control of situational variables, possible location/placement of components, variety of operational environments, dynamic crew tasking, and control/display technology unique characteristics. Test methods and relevent criteria are lacking. A quick fix is the use of low fidelity mockups for rapid testing and methods development. Such an approach can be both effective with respect to test dollars and responsive to the dynamics of the control/display development cycle. The present paper discusses the use of the low fidelity simulation in two specific developments. The first example presents the design of formats for a universal control/display layout to be used as a replacement for conventional pushbutton technology. The second example presents testing designed to determine the amount and type of control/display required for a crewstation functional upgrade. Both examples are from the test and evaluation work being performed on Navy patrol aircraft. Finally, a laboratory will be described which is being developed to permit this approach to testing.