NextGen Tools Research Articles

Evaluating probe techniques and a situated theory of situation awareness.

Probe techniques for measuring situation awareness (SA) vary in whether scenarios are paused and displays visible while questions are presented. We examined which technique is least intrusive on workload and performance in air traffic control, and which is most sensitive at capturing differences in SA when automation varies. We also tested predictions from the situated SA theory, which holds that operators offload specific and low-priority information onto displays to limit internal processing. To accomplish these goals, Experiments 1 and 2 manipulated whether radar displays were visible and scenarios paused during queries. Experiment 2 also manipulated the amount of automation by varying the percentage of aircraft equipped with NextGen tools. We found all probe techniques were equally sensitive at capturing SA differences for different levels of equipage, but those that paused scenarios were least intrusive. Moreover, consistent with situated SA, blanking displays impaired ability to answer questions about specific but not general information. Experiment 3 recorded eye gaze frequency and duration during queries when scenarios were visible and not paused and, as predicted by situated SA, found participants were more likely to look at radar displays while answering specific and low-priority questions than general and high-priority questions. (PsycINFO Database Record

NextGen's tools for the future

NextGen's tools for the future

Training Student Air Traffic Controllers to Trust Automation

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) will implement new automation tools to allow controllers to effectively manage the projected increase in air travel over the next decade. In order for the implementation of NextGen tools to be successful, it is important that air traffic controllers (ATCos) develop appropriate levels of trust in these automated tools. The present study investigated whether students could be trained to trust automation in a NextGen environment, and whether their trust in automation would affect their air traffic management performance. We also examined if personality traits influence the student's likelihood to trust automation. We found an early benefit in terms of efficiency in air traffic management for students who were trained to trust automation. We also found that people with high emotional stability reported higher levels of trust in automation.

Application of Part-Whole Training Methods to Evaluate When to Introduce NextGen Air Traffic Management Tools to Students

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) will use advanced technologies and new concepts of operation to accommodate projected increases in air travel over the next few decades. Use of NextGen tools requires air traffic controllers (ATCos) to use different procedures than those required to manage NextGen-unequipped aircraft, and ATCos will need to integrate the 2 skill sets when managing a sector consisting of NextGen-equipped and unequipped aircraft. The goal of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of 2 procedures in the training of student controllers to manage both equipage types. We applied a variant of the part-whole training paradigm in the present study. Using a quasi-experimental design, we trained students from 2 different labs of an internship course to manage air traffic with potential NextGen tools concurrent with their traditional training (whole-task group) or after they had time to learn traditional air traffic management skills (part-whole group). Participants were then tested in their ability to manage a simulated sector consisting of different percentages of NextGen-equipped and unequipped aircraft at the mid-term and after the final week of their internship. Results showed that it is better to train students in manual ATCo skills before introducing NextGen tools, unless the students are of higher aptitude. For more skilled students, simultaneously introducing NextGen and manual tools into their curriculum had little negative impact.

How Does Reliance on Automated Tools During Learning Influence Students’ Air Traffic Management Skills When the Tools Fail?

Research on potential NextGen technology has shown that advanced conflict detection and resolution tools can increase air traffic controllers’ performance and decrease their workload. However, use of NextGen tools can change the way controllers represent and manage their sector. Kraut et al. (2011) found that when NextGen tools failed in a simulated environment, experienced controllers were able to recover from the error and revert back to manual air traffic management techniques. One question is whether students would be able to recover from failures of technology if they were trained to rely on NextGen tools during acquisition of their air traffic management skills. To answer this question, we performed a simulation in which students were trained over 16 weeks to manage a sector consisting of both NextGen equipped and unequipped aircraft. Reliance on manual skills versus NextGen tools was induced by varying the percentage of equipped aircraft, being mostly NextGen equipped aircraft (75% vs. 25%) or mostly non-equipped aircraft during the first 8 weeks of learning. After the 16 weeks of training, participants were tested under nominal and failure conditions. Results showed that under nominal conditions, the training type was not an important factor. Instead, the percentage of equipped aircraft was the important factor: More equipped aircraft led to better performance and lower workload. However, when comparing the same scenario in which there was a failure of NextGen tools, the group trained to rely more on manual skills early in training performed better than the group trained to rely more on NextGen tools early in training. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Situation Awareness in the NextGen Air Traffic Management System

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is expected to revolutionize how air traffic will be managed and significantly enhance the capacity of the National Airspace System in the United States. Because NextGen is a system that requires a high level of interaction between human operators and technology, there is a need to assess how NextGen tools and concepts of operation will impact operator situation awareness (SA). The goal of this study is to highlight the importance of SA to operator performance in complex systems. The defended view is that SA is situated, which means that operators rely in fundamental ways on interactions with external tools to maintain their understanding of a situation, minimizing internal memory storage of task relevant information. Consequently, SA metrics must be conducted in the context where operators have access to their displays and tools. The article ends with a discussion of how the situated SA approach can be used to explain the acquisition of shared SA in distributed teams and to guide applied research relating to the evaluation and development of NextGen concepts and tools.

Should Students Learn General Air Traffic Management Skills Before NextGen Tools?

The goal of the present study was to determine whether the order of training of three specific NextGen tools (conflict detection, conflict probes, and Data Comm) affected student learning of air traffic management procedures, and, subsequently, their performance, workload, and situation awareness. We found that performance benefited from recent training of current-day air traffic management skills regardless of the order in which students were exposed to these skills. Overall, students were able to quickly learn how to use the NextGen tools implemented in the stimulation. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.