Cockpit Information Research Articles

Examination of the influence of the integrated mission management system on the pilot’s situational awareness

Purpose This paper aims to present research carried out on the influence of GUI graphical elements design for an integrated mission management system (IMMS) display flight planning process. Design/methodology/approach Surveys and research were conducted among students/pilots to explore graphic presentation methods for flight planning displays. Guidelines for graphical layout of the IMMS flight planning interface are proposed. Findings A research concept was obtained, enabling GUI tests for IMMS using prepared templates and questionnaires. Practical implications This study improves cockpit information readability, understanding and presentation, particularly for flight planning elements such as terrain, weather, traffic and zones influencing route organisation. Social implications This study targets possible improvements to the flight path planning process in aviation, inducing a reduction in errors related to human factors while processing the visual data on-board. Originality/value The study verified the impact of drawing and rendering methods on IMMS flight planning, suggesting that current display methods may be error-prone when showing hazard information from multiple sources on a single screen.

An information flow field model for human–machine interaction

PurposeAbout 70% of all aircraft accidents are caused by human–machine interaction, thus identifying and quantifying performance shaping factors is a significant challenge in the study of human reliability. An information flow field model of human–machine interaction is put forward to help better pinpoint the factors influencing performance and to make up for the lack of a model of information flow and feedback processes in the aircraft cockpit. To enhance the efficacy of the human–machine interaction, this paper aims to examine the important coupling factors in the system using the findings of the simulation.Design/methodology/approachThe performance-shaping factors were retrieved from the model, which was created to thoroughly describe the information flow. The coupling degree between the performance shaping factors was calculated, and simulation and sensitivity analysis are based on system dynamics.FindingsThe results show that the efficacy of human–computer interaction is significantly influenced by individual important factors and coupling factors. To decrease the frequency of accidents after seven hours, attention should be paid to these factors.Originality/valueThe novelty of this work lies in proposing a theoretical model of cockpit information flow and using system dynamics to analyse the effect of the factors in the human–machine loop on human–machine efficacy.

Математическая модель сопутствующей деятельности пилота и ее применение для объективной оценки его состояния и профессиональной подготовки

<p>A new approach to analysis and diagnostics of the pilots’ activities is presented, which makes it possible to compare both different options of the aircraft cockpit information and control field and the professional training of flight personnel from the viewpoint of application effectiveness. A mathematical model of the associated activities in use represents the pilot work via the matrix of transition probabilities, where transitions occur between the operations he performs. The approach under consideration is based on the convolution of the applied Markovian processes, which are created using the pilot activity protocols, into the quantum representations, making it possible to reveal the structure of these processes by the quantum spectral analysis. Application of the quantum filtering makes it possible to obtain quantitative diagnostic assessments of the pilot activity. Analysis of the experimental results for pilots of various training levels is given to demonstrate the possibility for assessing their professional skills as well as the prospects for using the proposed methods.</p>

Оценка информационно-управляющего поля кабины пилотов с использованием нейронных сетей и методов

<p>The paper deals with the methodology of estimating the cockpit information and control field using indicators of oculomotor activity and a probabilistic neural network, which is used to calculate the final estimate of the considered display version. This methodology was tested on the universal prototyping bench basis with the participation of pilots. The using of this methodology contributes to the rapid and qualitative ergonomic assessment of the cockpit information and control field, which in turn increases the efficiency of human-machine interaction and, as a consequence, the safety of air transportation.</p>

On the (In)Security of 1090ES and UAT978 Mobile Cockpit Information Systems–An Attacker Perspective on the Availability of ADS-B Safety- and Mission-Critical Systems

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) is a key air surveillance technology and a critical component of next-generation air transportation systems. It significantly simplifies aircraft surveillance technology and improves airborne traffic situational awareness. Many types of mobile cockpit information systems (MCISs) are based on ADS-B technology. MCIS gives pilots the flight and traffic-related information they need. MCIS has two parts: an ADS-B transceiver and an electronic flight bag (EFB) application. The ADS-B transceivers transmit and receive the ADS-B radio signals while the EFB applications hosted on mobile phones display the data. Because they are cheap, lightweight, and easy to install, MCISs became very popular. However, due to the lack of basic security measures, ADS-B technology is vulnerable to cyberattacks, which makes the MCIS inherently exposed to attacks. Attacks are even more likely for the MCIS, because they are power, memory, and computationally constrained. This study explores the cybersecurity posture of various MCIS setups for both types of ADS-B technology: 1090ES and UAT978. Total six portable MCIS devices and 21 EFB applications were tested against radio-link-based attacks by transmission-capable software-defined radio (SDR). Packet-level denial of service (DoS) attacks affected approximately 63% and 37% of 1090ES and UAT978 setups, respectively, while many of them experienced a <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">system crash</i> . Our experiments show that DoS attacks on the reception could meaningfully reduce transmission capacity. Our coordinated attack and fuzz tests also reported worrying issues on the MCIS. The consistency of our results on a very broad range of hardware and software configurations indicate the reliability of our proposed methodology as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of our platform.

Implementation of touch screens in the crew cockpit information and control field using the ARINC 661 standard

This article discusses the problem of using touch screens in the crew cockpit as part of a general trend optimizing the humanmachine interface of the cockpit in order to improve the safety and quality of flights. The aim of the work is to develop a promising cockpit information and control field of a transport category aircraft based on touch screens and to analyze the feasibility of using this technology on board the aircraft. Based on the analysis of current research and trends, as well as regulatory documentation in the field of building a perspective cockpit using touch screens, a conclusion is made about the feasibility of using touch screens in the cockpit and the concept of a perspective cockpit is developed. As important elements of the concept, such interactive display pages as normal and emergency checklists, a navigation page with a flight plan, and pages of the aircraft navigation system are considered. Given the well-known problem of using touch displays in turbulence, a backup display and reconfiguration control loop is proposed. On the basis of the above-mentioned concept, an intelligent information system is being developed for prototyping a promising cockpit, taking into account the application of the ARINC 661 standard, with subsequent integration into a universal stand for prototyping the cockpit and testing the results with the participation of flight experts. The practical significance of this study is due to the significant optimization of the elements of the cockpit information and control field, as well as the potential increase in the reliability of the complex by replacing the electromechanical display controls, reducing the cost of developing the information and control field and making improvements, reducing weight by decreasing the number of wires and equipment, reducing the complexity of installation.

Aircraft Cockpit Ergonomic Layout Evaluation Based on Uncertain Linguistic Multiattribute Decision Making

In the view of the current cockpit information interaction, facilities and other characteristics are increasingly multifarious; the early layout evaluation methods based on single or partial components, often cause comprehensive evaluation unilateral, leading to the problems of long development period and low efficiency. Considering the fuzziness of ergonomic evaluation and diversity of evaluation information attributes, we refine and build an evaluation system based on the characteristics of the current cockpit man-machine layout and introduce the different types of uncertain linguistic multiple attribute combination decision making (DTULDM) method in the cockpit layout evaluation process. Meanwhile, we also establish an aircraft cockpit ergonomic layout evaluation model. Finally, an experiment about cockpit layout evaluation is given, and the result demonstrates that the proposed method about cockpit ergonomic layout evaluation is feasible and effective.

Informing the Design of Multimodal Displays: A Meta-Analysis of Empirical Studies Comparing Auditory and Tactile Interruptions

The expected air traffic growth will introduce new tasks and automation technologies. As a result, the amount of mostly visual cockpit information will increase significantly, leading to more inter...

Study of Assessment of Computer Aided Color Design

At present the capacity for computer aided color design both at home and abroad is relatively weak. The paper studies one aspect of it, that is, the objective assessment of computer aided color design. It takes color matching schemes of cockpit information display as an example to carry out the experiment of assessment.The experiment mainly deals with the assessment of the color matching schemes of the primary flight display. Four-dimensional assessment indicators are used to evaluate the quickness of information recognition for pilots, through which the order of excellence of the color matching schemes is achieved. Based on the findings of the experiment, the article proposes the generalized model framework for the assessment of CACD. The framework has four parts. Color design of human-computer interface of the prototype product; the application of computer software to the design of color schemes; Computer aided assessment on color design, including experiment design, the application of computer programming to carrying out the simulated experiment which is based on the prototype and the application of computer software to statistical analaysis of the data collected; Objective assessment on the color design schemes. This framework can give an objective description of the color design, which can be applied to various products. However, different products should design different experiments. This framework provides new references for the study in the field of the CACD.

Priority and Organization of Information Accessed by Pilots in Various Phases of Flight

In 1 project, 27 pilots rated the priority of information required for flight. These pilots were divided by flight experience into novices (65 - 820 hrs) and experienced pilots (1,600 to 17,000 hrs). Participants rated 29 information elements across 7 phases of flight. These data show the shifting priorities of information across phases of flight, and some clear differences in priority assignments appeared between the novices and the experienced pilots. In another project, 34 pilots, some the same as before, participated in the collection of relatedness data for 231 pairs of information elements. Pathfinder analysis and hierarchical clustering were conducted showing connections among these elements and grouping of the elements. Pilot experience had little influence on the form of the network of associations. The discussion explores the potential of these data for instrumentation layout and integration of cockpit information systems, datalink design, and development of flight instruction curricula.

The Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate: design and evaluation of an intelligent user interface for cockpit information management

The US Army's Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate (RPA) program is developing an advanced, intelligent associate system for flight demonstration in a future attack/scout helicopter. A significant RPA component is the intelligent user interface known as the Cockpit Information Manager (CIM). This paper describes the high-level architecture of the CIM, with emphasis on its pilot-perceptible behaviors: Crew Intent Estimation, Page Selection, Symbol Selection/Declutter, Intelligent Window Location, Automated Pan and Zoom, and Task Allocation. We then present the subjective results of recent full mission simulation studies using the CIM to illustrate pilots' attitudes toward these behaviors and their perceived effectiveness.

Distributed Representation as a Principle for the Analysis of Cockpit Information Displays

This article examines the representational properties of cockpit information displays from the perspective of distributed representations (Zhang & Norman, 1994). The basic idea is that the information needed for many tasks in a cockpit is distributed across the external information displays in the cockpit and the internal minds of the pilots. It is proposed that the relative distribution of internal and external information is the major factor of a display's representational efficiency. Several functionally equivalent but representationally different navigation displays are selected to illustrate how the principle of distributed representations is applied to the analysis of the representational efficiencies of cockpit information displays.

FMS Airline Experience to date

The term flight management system (or FMCS, flight management computer system) is used to cover some equipment types which have been coming into service in recent years. In this context, it is taken to mean a system for handling horizontal and vertical navigation by various means (as distinct from purely performance management systems).Such an FMS consists of a computer or computers fed by data from a variety of services, and outputting information and control signals. In horizontal navigation, inputs may be inertial sensors and/or ground-based radio navigation facilities. For performance optimization, data are fed from a number of aircraft systems. This type of system is capable of independently computing several parameters and ‘pooling’ their information to provide a ‘best estimate’. Cockpit information in INS configuration is confined to specific digital displays and data input is, in the main, manual and limited to numerics. FMS goes a number of stages further and provides ‘pre-loaded’ storage of navigational information, and the ability to gain access to this information through an alphanumeric keyboard. It also handles, either directly or through a thrust management computer, the vertical profile of the flight. This includes both climb and descent, and cruise control.