Air Traffic Control Domain Research Articles

Memory leak analysis of mission-critical middleware

Memory leaks are recognized to be one of the major causes of memory exhaustion problems in complex software systems. This paper proposes a practical approach to detect aging phenomena caused by memory leaks in distributed objects Off-The-Shelf middleware, which are commonly used to develop critical applications. The approach, which is validated on a real-world case study from the Air Traffic Control domain, defines algorithms and ad hoc support tools to perform data filtering and to find the best trade off between experimentation time and statistical accuracy of aging trend estimates. Experiments show that fixing memory leaks is not always the key to solve memory exhaustion problems.

On the Measurement of Situation Awareness for Effective Human-Robot Interaction in Teleoperated Systems

Several methods of measuring the situation awareness (SA) of a human who is teleoperating a robot are compared for the domain of urban search and rescue (USAR), to identify those that have the greatest potential for developing more reliable and accurate ways of measuring SA for effectively operating robot systems. Such comparative studies are essential because SA has been identified as a key human factors issue since post-September 11, 2001, operations for effective task performance in (tele)robotics. This paper discusses the pros and cons of the main aspects that need to be included in developing reliable SA measurement methods from the related domain of air traffic control, in which SA has a long research history. These methods have been adopted and modified accordingly to address needs of teleoperating robot systems and have been tested in a realistic USAR simulated scenario developed especially for performing these assessments. The results were compared against each other as well as with existing measures. A new method of measuring task performance that is more appropriate for USAR is also presented and tested within the comparative studies.

Human Factors Measurement for Future Air Traffic Control Systems

This article provides a critical review of research pertaining to the measurement of human factors (HF) issues in current and future air traffic control (ATC). Growing worldwide air traffic demands call for a radical departure from current ATC systems. Future systems will have a fundamental impact on the roles and responsibilities of ATC officers (ATCOs). Valid and reliable methods of assessing HF issues associated with these changes, such as a potential increase (or decrease) in workload, are of utmost importance for advancing theory and for designing systems, procedures, and training. We outline major aviation changes and how these relate to five key HF issues in ATC. Measures are outlined, compared, and evaluated and are followed by guidelines for assessing these issues in the ATC domain. Recommendations for future research are presented. A review of the literature suggests that situational awareness and workload have been widely researched and assessed using a variety of measures, but researchers have neglected the areas of trust, stress, and boredom. We make recommendations for use of particular measures and the construction of new measures. It is predicted that, given the changing role of ATCOs and profound future airspace requirements and configurations, issues of stress, trust, and boredom will become more significant. Researchers should develop and/or refine existing measures of all five key HF issues to assess their impact on ATCO performance. Furthermore, these issues should be considered in a holistic manner. The current article provides an evaluation of research and measures used in HF research on ATC that will aid research and ATC measurement.

Linking Task Analysis to Information Relevance

The main objective of this study is to present a methodology for computing information relevance. Relevance is a pervasive term used in several domains, such as pragmatics, information science, and psychology. Quantifying the relevance of information can be helpful in effective display design. Displays should be designed so that the more relevant information is more easily accessed. This procedure focuses on computing the relevance of a piece of information by taking into account three aspects of tasks that use the information: the number of different tasks that make use of the information, the frequency of occurrence of those tasks, and the criticality of those tasks. The methodology can be used to compute the aggregate relevance of a piece of information for a particular component of a system or for the entire system. This methodology was illustrated using the domain of air traffic control (ATC). In support of the validity of the methodology, we were able to confirm the value of weather information and traffic information in ATC towers. The method can be used to derive information relevance, a characteristic of information that has implications for display design for any domain. Designers can use information about aggregate relevance to design information displays that feature the most relevant information.

항공기 관제 디스플레이의 생태학적 인터페이스 디자인에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an effect of the new air traffic control display designed by Ecological Interface Design [EID]. The methodology of EID has not been applied to the development of the air traffic control display so far. To design a new air traffic control display by EID, We implemented Work Domain Analysis about the air traffic control domain and made the Work Domain Model that consisted of the five levels of the Abstraction Hierarchy. We extracted the Information Requirement from the completed Work Domain Model and the extracted information requirements from the model were used to design the new air traffic control display. We evaluated an effect of the new air traffic control display designed by EID. Participants for evaluating consisted of 14 active military air traffic controller of the Republic of Korea Air Force. Experiment was designed two factors within subject. Factors manipulated in the experiment included displays type to compare the existing type with the new ecological interface type and included complexity to compare the effect of the high complex situation with the effect of the low complex situation. Response time about questions with relation to air traffic collision situation, accuracy, and subjective work load were measured. The results reveled that EID type's display has a significant effect on response time, accuracy, and subjective work load and verified that EID could be applied to the air traffic control domain that is more complex and dynamic.

A Hierarchical Probabilistic Approach for Risk Assessments of an Aviation Safety Product Portfolio

Given the current accident rate, the number of fatal accidents is projected to increase in the next several years emphasizing the need for advanced aviation safety research. An initial attempt to develop a generic Aviation System Risk Model (ASRM) suggested that the modeling approach lacked a fully developed contextual domain. Following this initial ASRM, an operational/maintenance ASRM prototype was developed based on case studies of specific aircraft accidents. Past and current research efforts focus on multiple case designs in the context of an aviation accident category and consider case study models in isolation. As a consequence, each risk model yields its particular result and the aviation system risk is interpreted based on multiple different, yet isolated results. The approach adopted in this paper extends the conventional methodology used in previous research efforts and provides a higher-order model by considering the holistic nature of the aviation system. A new meta-case that combines different cases to obtain a single numerical value, termed the safety enhancement value, can be designed using this methodology. The approach suggested in this paper presents a novel application in the aviation safety domain and offers significant promise for risk assessments of an aviation safety product port-folio. While an aviation maintenance-related accident category is used for illustrative purposes, aspects of the modeling approach that connect with organizational factors in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) domain are also addressed.

Improving the Usability of an Automated Tool for the Recording, Coordination, and Communication of Traffic Management Initiatives

The current processes for recording, coordinating, and communicating traffic management initiatives in Air Traffic Control (ATC) are inefficient, workload intensive, and time consuming. The National Traffic Management Log (NTML) is an automated tool that will enhance and streamline these processes. We used an iterative design methodology with a multidisciplinary design team to develop solutions to existing design problems, and to design new system capabilities. The design team included Human Factors specialists, hardware and software engineers, and ATC domain experts. The design challenges faced by the team included addressing the unique needs of the various ATC domains while providing a usable human-computer interface. The application of the iterative design methodology and the benefits of using a multidisciplinary design team will be discussed.

Developing Human Factors Design Principles for Information Display Systems in Air Traffic Control

An Information Display System (IDS) provides access to many types of information. It consolidates data to one source and eliminates the need for multiple displays. An IDS provides a logical structure and uses a standardized information display format. We present a set of design principles for IDSs in Air Traffic Control (ATC). We conducted an investigation of information and usability requirements in each of the ATC domains. Based on the investigation and on existing design guidelines and standards, we developed design principles that capture the critical components of designing an effective IDS for ATC. In order to be useful and usable, an IDS and the information it contains should be accessible, current, comprehensive, and standardized. We discuss each of these principles, the motivation for including them, and some specific examples of how they can be implemented in an IDS. We also discuss the methods used for collecting data from the field, refining, and validating the principles.

The Impact of Automation Use on the Mental Model: Findings from the Air Traffic Control Domain

The ‘Free Flight’ (FF) concept has been proposed as a means of reducing delay in the airspace system. However, concerns over lapses in a controller's situation awareness as a result of FF implementation have prompted an influx of new technologies aimed at helping controllers more effectively predict the future trajectories of aircraft thereby preserving situation awareness. Such aids are based on the principle of direct visualization, whereby future system states are presented without providing adequate information to the user as to how these states were generated. Usage of aids that employ this design principle can have adverse effects on the mental model given that the user is not forced to extensively think about the processes governing the prediction. Drawing on the results from an empirical study in the air traffic control domain, evidence of this concern is presented and it is argued that caution must be exercised when introducing these aids, given the possibility that such usage may compromise a controller's ability to problem-solve and acquire knowledge.

Preventing user errors by systematic analysis of deviations from the system task model

Interactive safety-critical applications have specific requirements that cannot be completely captured by traditional evaluation techniques. In this paper, we discuss how to perform a systematic inspection-based analysis to improve both usability and safety aspects of an application. The analysis considers a system prototype and the related task model and aims to evaluate what could happen when interactions and behaviours occur differently from what the system design assumes. We also provide a description and discussion of an application of this method to a case study in the air traffic control domain.

Integrated support based on task models for the design, evaluation, and documentation of interactive safety-critical systems: A case study in the air-traffic control domain

This paper presents an approach to using task models in both the design and the evaluation phases of interactive safety-critical applications. We explain how it is possible to use information contained in task models to support the design and development of effective user interfaces. Moreover, we show how task models can also support a systematic inspection-based usability assessment by examining possible deviations that can occur while users interact with the system, an important issue especially when coping with the peculiar requirements of safety-critical applications. Such evaluation provides useful technical documentation to help users achieve an in-depth understanding of the system and its design rationale. Lastly, a description of the application of our approach to a real case study in the air-traffic control domain will illustrate the main features of the proposed method. In particular, we discuss examples taken from an application for air-traffic controllers in an aerodrome supported by graphical user interfaces for data-link communications with pilots.

THE APPLICATION OF MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS TO THE VALIDATION OF AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL DOMAIN THEORY

In this paper we describe a project (IMPRESS) in which machine learning (ML) tools were created and utilised for the validation of an Air Traffic Control domain theory written in first order logic. During the project, novel techniques were devised for the automated revision of general clause form theories using training examples. These techniques were combined in an algorithm which focused in on the parts of a theory which involve ordinal sorts, and applied geometrical revision operators to repair faulty component parts. While we illustrate the feasibility of applying ML to this area, we conclude that to be effective it must be focused to the application at hand, and used in mixed-initiative mode within a tools environment. The method is illustrated with experimental results obtained during the project.

A feasibility study of the use of incidents and accidents reports to evaluate effects of Team Resource Management in Air Traffic Control

Valuable improvements in performance have been obtained by ‘Crew Resource Management’ (CRM) courses performed in the domain of aviation related to the crew in a cockpit, and in the maritime domain related to the crew on the bridge of large ships. CRM courses are currently being adapted to the domain of Air Traffic Control under the heading of ‘Team Resource Management’. In this adaptation phase, it is important to obtain knowledge concerning the effectiveness of such training programmes in relation to enhancing human factors awareness and knowledge. This requires a methodology for detecting training effects. For this purpose a feasibility study has been conducted concerning the use of paper cases — short written reports on real or fictitious incidents or accidents — to discriminate air traffic controllers with regard to their ability to identify ‘human factors’ determinants involved in such cases. The outcome of the feasibility study did not show clearly significant discrimination between the selected groups of air traffic controllers, but vague signs indicate that the use of more complex discriminators might be worthwhile to explore.

Combining formal specification and CORE: an experimental investigation

CORE is an established requirements modelling method which employs diagrams and natural language supporting text to express the requirements of a system. The paper reports on a project that has investigated the use of formal specification techniques to strengthen CORE. It focuses on the use of the Vienna development method (VDM) with CORE and outlines an experimental investigation of a proposed CORE/VDM approach within the air traffic control domain. In addition, the role of communicating sequential processes (CSP) with CORE is discussed. The paper concludes that VDM complements CORE by improving the semantic definition of the resultant requirements model and also suggests that CSP may be used to complement VDM in order to portray the dynamic and compositional aspects of a CORE model.

A requirements capture method and its use in an air traffic control application

AbstractThis paper describes our experience in capturing, using a formal specification language, a model of the knowledge‐intensive domain of oceanic air traffic control. This model is intended to form part of the requirements specification for a decision support system for air traffic controllers. We give an overview of the methods we used in analysing the scope of the domain, choosing an appropriate formalism, developing a domain model, and validating the model in various ways. Central to the method was the development of a formal requirements engineering environment which provided automated tools for model validation and maintenance.

Acquiring first-order knowledge about air traffic control

This paper presents an application of knowledge intensive generalization to knowledge acquisition, in the domain of air traffic control. We explain why knowledge intensiveness and first-order logic are sometimes necessary, as for instance in the application field studied here. An obvious advantage of first-order logic is its power of expression, while an obvious drawback is long computation time. We also describe some less obvious advantages and drawbacks of first-order logic, especially when the knowledge must be expressed as Horn clauses to retain some computational efficiency. Finally, we emphasize the large translation problem that must be solved in order to allow an efficient interaction with the expert. Two translation phases are necessary. One goes from the expert's language to Horn clauses, the second one goes back from Horn clauses to the expert's language. The first one is necessary to ensure automatic learning, while the second one allows the expert to understand what has been learned. Both phases are far from trivial and ask for choices that must be made carefully in order to avoid losing significant information. One of our unexpected results is that the second translation phase plays the role of a validation step. It thus becomes a very efficient way to acquire knowledge the expert has problems formalizing. Using first-order logic does complicate things, but it provides, as a reward, a powerful way of extracting and validating the acquired knowledge, especially when the field expert is unable to express his knowledge in a simple way.

A parallel computational model for integrated speech and natural language understanding

Presents a parallel approach for integrating speech and natural language understanding. The method emphasizes a hierarchically-structured knowledge base and memory-based parsing techniques. Processing is carried out by passing multiple markers in parallel through the knowledge base. Speech specific problems such as insertion, deletion, substitution, and word boundary detection have been analyzed and their parallel solutions are provided. Results on the SNAP-1 multiprocessor show an 80% sentence recognition rate for the Air Traffic Control (ATC) domain. Furthermore, speed-up of up to 15-fold is obtained from the parallel platform which provides response times of a few seconds per sentence for the ATC domain.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>