Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Human in the Loop”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

When the Eyes Don't Have It: Autonomous Control of Deep Space Vehicles for Human Spaceflight

NASA has been charged with expanding human presence into the solar system. The next phase of exploration will focus on learning how to develop and sustain habitats on the moon for eventual missions to Mars. The Gateway Lunar Orbiting Platform (G-LOP) is a modular spacecraft being built for cis-lunar orbit and offers a true deep space environment for gaining experience for human missions to Mars. The mission concept for Gateway involves long uncrewed periods between missions; therefore, Gateway requires increased self-reliance to separate the spacecraft from Earth-bound control and oversight. This complicates the human-in-the-loop (HITL) concept and requires major adjustments to the traditional automation human-computer interaction paradigm. This paper discusses the design, development, and verification of complex human-computer interactions with the autonomous systems managers which will control the Gateway spacecraft.

Julia M. Badger↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modeling Electrolytic O2 Recovery from Metabolic CO2 for Advanced Closed Loop Life Support Systems in Extraterrestrial Human Missions

The International Space Station (ISS) is currently equipped with a complex, heavy, and power consuming system that recovers approximately 50% of O2 from metabolic CO2. Future long duration human missions to the Moon and Mars will necessitate a sustainable and highly efficient metabolic oxygen recovery system capable of yielding a minimum of 75% O2 recovery. A Macrofluidic Electrochemical Reactor (MFECR) technology development effort is currently underway at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to significantly increase current metabolic O2 recovery efficiency, expand mission sustainability, and reduce complexity of the system. The novel design combines CO2 conversion to O2 along with C2H4 as byproduct and water electrolysis (currently conducted in two separate units) into a single compact unit that runs at standard conditions and is theoretically capable of generating O2 with a theoretical maximum metabolic CO2 conversion of 73% while consuming less than metabolic water. This paper presents a comprehensive multi-physic 3D model developed at MSFC on CO2 conversion to O2 and C2H4 at standard conditions via MFECR. The 3D spatial domain of the model is a replica of the actual MFECR’s 3D drawing generated for the MFECR fabrication and operated to recover O2 from CO2 yielding C2H4 as byproduct. Electrochemical (EC) physics that includes EC multicomponent reaction mechanisms, mass transport, and electrical current density distributions is coupled in the model with all the other physics phenomena involved in the MFECR’s process, such as two-phase flow, free and porous fluid regimes, multicomponent mass transfer, heat transfer, and DC electrical current generation along with Joule heating effect. The EC reaction sections of the MFECR consists of two porous gas diffusion electrodes (GDE) and an electrolyte serpentine channel sandwiched in the middle. The CO2 feeds the cathode serpentine channel and part of the O2 product is fed back to the anode serpentine chamber. An alkaline solution feeds the electrolyte serpentine chamber wetting the GDEs of both, the anode and cathode allowing the OH- ionic transport between them. The EC reactions in the cathode’s GDE yield C2H4 from CO2 and H2 from water while the EC reaction in the anode’s GDE yields O2. The authors will present in this paper the validation of the model using experimental data and the utilization of the validated model in building a reliable simulator that will not only assist the authors on the MFECR design but also the optimization of its operation in the ISS and future spatial human missions.

Jesus A Dominguez↗
NASA NTRS2023

Joint Augmented Reality Visual Informatics System: Concept of Operations

NASA proposed requirements for a digital display for an EVA spacesuit to provide relevant information to the crew member. The Joint Augmented Reality Visual Informatics System (Joint AR) project pursued four years of research and development towards a suit-display system in a near-eye, AR form factor. The project was responsible for developing software (custom graphics engine and core flight software), physical hardware prototyping (controls, projection display optics, suited display platform), virtual prototyping platform (a virtual reality testbed), and human-in-the-loop (HITL) operational testing informed by EVA flight controllers, crew members, and human factors engineers for con-ops definition. This document contains substantial updates to CTSD-ADV-1788 Rev. Basic. This revision was produced by the project to summarize the use-cases and and user experiences developed throughout the project, and refine the Basic revision originally drafted at the beginning of the project life cycle. The primary purpose of this document is to summarize and make available the scenario development efforts that have been pursued and explored within the Joint AR project. This includes descriptions of the scenarios themselves as well as corresponding potential of advanced informatics displays to support those specified scenarios. In doing so, this document provides a variety of approaches to deconstruct and hypothesize how future technological capabilities so that with future EVA work demands can be satisfied within future human planetary spaceflight missions.

Matthew Miller↗
NASA NTRS2024

A Distributed Simulation Framework Applied to Artemis Analysis, Studies, Integration, and Test

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) established the Artemis Program, a series of missions to return humans to the Moon and explore further than before. To execute the Artemis missions, NASA is collaborating with commercial and international partners to create the necessary infrastructure and logistics plan that will establish a long term presence on the Moon ahead of exploring Mars. NASA and its partners are developing a collection of space and surface systems to support crewed missions to the lunar surface that will provide the mobility, habitation, logistics, and exploration support necessary for Artemis mission successes which includes robust scientific investigations. This paper details the design, capabilities, and uses of the Artemis Distributed Simulation (ADS) being developed by the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations (NExSyS) Team to support Artemis architecture studies. ADS utilizes international interoperability standards to connect a collection of independent vehicle and service simulations; these include but are not limited to elements such as rovers, landers, and habitation elements along with services like communications, environment, visualization, and data logging. ADS’s distributed nature allows for the complex aggregation of constituent Artemis elements; this includes efficient scenario modification with the addition or removal of individual simulations representing Artemis elements or services. This capability provides support for the rapid performance of various Artemis mission trade studies exploring alternate configurations. Currently, ADS uses NASA developed simulations for development and testing; however, through the use of international simulation interoperability standards, ADS provides an integration framework to incorporate dissimilar authoritative vendor simulations as Artemis systems mature and vendor simulations become available. Vendor simulations will be able to join ADS and interact with other Artemis elements and vehicles while limiting the exposure of proprietary data. This paper describes the expansion of an existing distributed simulation infrastructure to accommodate a collaborative and dynamic framework for the Artemis Program. This work includes updated federation designs, integration into existing NASA facilities, advancements in visualizations, and advancements in human driven inputs. This paper will also outline recently completed and ongoing support and collaboration with NASA studies and testing, namely results from energetics and Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) studies. The paper concludes with a plan for future developments and facility integration to enable enhanced studies in preparation for a return of humans to the lunar surface.

Artemis↗
NASA NTRS2016

Closed Loop Control Compact Exercise Device for Use on MPCV

Long duration space travel to Mars or to an asteroid will expose astronauts to extended periods of reduced gravity. To combat spaceflight physiological deconditioning, astronauts will use resistive and aerobic exercise regimens for the duration of the space flight to minimize the loss of bone density, muscle mass and aerobic capacity that occurs during exposure to a reduced gravity environment. Unlike the International Space Station (ISS), the mass and volume available for an exercise device in the next generation of spacecraft is limited. Therefore, compact exercise device prototypes are being developed for human in the loop evaluations. The NASA Human Research Program (HRP) is managing Advanced Exercise Concepts (AEC) requirements development and candidate technology maturation for all exploration mission profiles from Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) exploration missions (e.g., EM-2, up to 21 day) to Mars Transit (up to 1000 day) missions. Numerous technologies have been considered and evaluated against HRP-approved functional requirements and include flywheel, pneumatic and closed-loop microprocessor-controlled motor driven power plants. Motor driven technologies offer excellent torque density and load accuracy characteristics as well as the ability to create custom mechanical impedance (the dynamic relationship between force and velocity) and custom load versus position exercise algorithms. Further, closed-loop motor-driven technologies offer the ability to monitor exercise dose parameters and adapt to the needs of the crewmember for real time optimization of exercise prescriptions. A simple proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is demonstrated in a prototype motor driven exercise device with comparison to resistive static and dynamic load set points and aerobic work rate targets. The resistive load term in the algorithm includes a constant force component (Fcmg) as well as inertial component (Fima) and a discussion of system tuning is presented in terms of addressing key functional requirements and human interfaces. The device aerobic modality is modelled as a rowing exercise using ground data sets obtained from Concept 2 rowers as well as competitive rowing1. A discussion of software and electronic implementations are presented which demonstrate unique approaches to meeting the constrained mass, volume and power requirements of the MPCV. . In addition to utilizing traditional PID control, controllers utilizing state feedback with gains solved using a Linear Quadratic Regulator will be developed. Controllability and observability will be utilized to investigate the need for state measurement in the design. As the control system directly interacts with human test subjects, robust methods such as H-infinity are also being investigated.1. Kleshnev V. Biomechanics. In: Rowing, Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science. ed. by Secher N., Voliantis S. IOC Medical Commission, Blackwell Pub. pp. 22-34, 2007

microgravity↗
DOE OSTI2023

Human Dimensions of Energy Systems Workshop - September 6-7, 2022: Findings and Next Steps

Advanced energy technologies and informed policies are necessary but not sufficient to accelerate the energy transition at the speed required to meet our shared climate and energy resilience goals. To fully understand and implement integrated energy systems, we need to be able to model and analyze the complete system-of-systems, including the behavior of people interacting with and being impacted by energy systems. The purpose of this workshop is: Understand how human behavior and decisions affect the performance of energy systems with a focus on resilience and human well-being; Identify opportunities to improve energy system design to explicitly consider human behavior and well-being; Enhance our capability to model and predict human actions. Develop the ability to stress test these integrated systems; Identify or develop requirements and tools for more robust system designs that can be used for human-in-the-loop exercises and training; Identify opportunities for joint research, joint appointments, and collaboration; and Guide internal investments and strategic hires.

analyze↗
NASA NTRS2010

Human Habitation in a Lunar Electric Rover During a 14-Day Field Trial

Various military and commercial entities, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have conducted space cabin confinement studies. However, after an extensive literature search, only one study was found using a simulated lunar rover (LUNEX II), under laboratory conditions, with a crew of two for an eighteen day lunar mission. Forty-three years later, NASA human factors engineers conducted a similar study using the Lunar Electric Rover (LER) in a dynamic real-world lunar simulation at the Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona. The objective of the study was to obtain human-in-the-loop performance data on the vehicle s interior volume with respect to human-system interfaces, crew accommodations, and habitation over a 14-day mission. Though part of a larger study including 212 overall operational elements, this paper will discuss only the performance of fifty different daily habitational elements within the confines of the vehicle carried out by two male subjects. Objective timing data and subjective questionnaire data were collected. Results indicate, much like the LUNEX II study, the LER field study suggest that a crew of two was able to maintain a satisfactory performance of tasks throughout the 14-day field trail within a relative small vehicle volume.

Litaker, Harry, Jr.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Space Launch System (SLS) Human Factors Engineering Modeling & Analysis

The Human Systems Integration & Engineering (HSI&E) team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) strives to advocate for the humans in the loop of Space Launch System’s (SLS) ground operations. Using assessment methods like human simulation, virtual reality, and physical mockups, both flight hardware and ground support equipment (GSE) are evaluated for human integration. Those ranging from 5th percentile female (approximately 5’2” tall) to 95th percentile male (approximately 6’2” tall) should be able to perform all SLS stacking operations. Operations include element physical mates, element electrical mates, and testing activities. The primary human simulation software used is Process Simulate Human (PSH) made by Siemens. This software supplies highly accurate human manikins that can interact with CAD models. PSH was used to evaluate the Transportation and Integration Platform’s (TIP) side opening that was designed for access to the Payload Adapter (PLA) cables. Technicians will need to access these cables for testing purposes before element stacking at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). After performing an analysis in PSH using the TIP side opening, it was found that neither a 5th percentile female or a 95th percentile male could perform the task as the designers had intended. There is a C-beam that blocks access to the cables (both physically and visually). An alternative analysis was performed using PSH to look at another access point to the PLA cables. Although this method would disrupt already established procedures and produce more work, the designers confirmed it was an option. Instead of technicians accessing the cables through the side opening in the TIP, a human simulation was performed for going through a panel opening in the bottom of the TIP. This method requires removal of a TIP panel and a stepladder of at least 36 inches for a 5th percentile female to access the cables.

human factors↗
NASA NTRS2016

Spot and Runway Departure Advisor (SARDA)

Spot and Runway Departure Advisor (SARDA) is a decision support tool to assist airline ramp controllers and ATC tower controllers to manage traffic on the airport surface to significantly improve efficiency and predictability in surface operations. The core function of the tool is the runway scheduler which generates an optimal solution for runway sequence and schedule of departure aircraft, which would minimize system delay and maximize runway throughput. The presentation also discusses the latest status of NASA's current surface research through a collaboration with an airline partner, where a tool is developed for airline ramp operators to assist departure pushback operations. The presentation describes the concept of the SARDA tool and results from human-in-the-loop simulations conducted in 2012 for Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport and 2014 for Charlotte airport ramp tower.

surface management↗
DOE OSTI2026

matsim-agents v1.0

matsim-agents is a multi-agent AI framework for atomistic materials simulation and discovery. It orchestrates large language models (LLMs), machine-learned interatomic potentials (MLIPs), and DFT codes into a single agentic loop running on laptops and DOE leadership-class supercomputers. MULTI-AGENT ORCHESTRATION A LangGraph state machine with three nodes: a Planner that converts a natural-language research objective into structured tasks; an Executor that dispatches atomistic tools and loops until the queue is empty; and an Analyst that summarizes results into a human-readable report. State is checkpointed after every step and human-in-the-loop gates can be inserted at any edge. HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN DISCOVERY CHAT An interactive REPL (matsim-agents chat) that couples LLM dialogue with atomistic simulation. Chemical formulas are automatically detected in conversation turns and trigger a full crystal-phase exploration: structure generation → relaxation → stability scoring → result injection back into the conversation, creating a closed hypothesis-refinement loop. CRYSTAL PHASE ENUMERATION Given a composition, the phase explorer enumerates prototypes by stoichiometry: elemental (fcc/bcc/hcp/sc/diamond), binary 1:1 (rocksalt/CsCl/zincblende/ wurtzite/fluorite/rutile), ternary 1:1:3 (cubic perovskite), ternary 1:2:4 (perovskite + spinel), quaternary 1:1:2:6 (Fm-3m double perovskite). 2-D prototypes (graphene, h-BN, MoS2 2H/1T) and multilayer stacking are also supported via --include-2d and --num-layers. SUPERCELL GENERATION AND SITE DECORATION Auto-tiling to a minimum atom count (--min-atoms), explicit NxNxN tiling (--supercell), symmetry-distinct site decorations (--n-orderings), and isotropic lattice-scale sweeps (--lattice-scales) for volume bracketing. MLFF RELAXATION AND STABILITY SCORING HydraGNN (multi-headed GNN) drives structure relaxation via ASE with FIRE, BFGS, or BFGSLineSearch. Stability output: delta-E/atom ranking across phases and a max-residual-force dynamical-stability proxy. Other MLIPs (MACE, NequIP, Orb) can be plugged in through the same interface. DFT BACKENDS Quantum ESPRESSO pw.x and VASP 6.6 are first-class labellers. Both have validated GPU builds and SLURM/PBS launchers for three DOE platforms: Frontier (AMD MI250X, ROCm), Aurora (Intel PVC, oneAPI), Perlmutter (NVIDIA A100, CUDA). QE produces ~100 binaries (pw.x, ph.x, epw.x, ...). VASP supports scf, relax, vc-relax, and vc-relax-shape run types. ACTIVE-LEARNING LOOP matsim-agents al run CONFIG.yaml drives an iterative HydraGNN-DFT loop: MD generates candidates → ensemble/MC-dropout uncertainty selects the most informative → DFT labels them in parallel inside one allocation → dataset grows → HydraGNN retrains → repeat. DFT backend is a single YAML toggle (dft.backend: vasp | qe). LLM-generated seed structures are supported (no curated POSCAR library needed). Config uses ${VAR}, ${VAR:-default}, ${VAR:?msg} shell-style substitution for cross-user/cross-site portability. LLM BACKENDS Ollama (local, default), vLLM (HPC multi-GPU serving), OpenAI, Anthropic, HuggingFace Transformers+Accelerate. Selected at runtime via flag or env var with no code changes. HPC PORTABILITY Same Python entry points run on Frontier (ROCm 7.2), Aurora (oneAPI), and Perlmutter (CUDA 12). DFT and ML stacks are never co-loaded in the same shell; they couple through the scheduler and filesystem. Advanced multi-node launchers (serve, discovery-chat, single-relaxation, active-learning, QE warm-start) are provided for all three platforms. CODABENCH COMPETITION BUNDLE A self-contained benchmark: 159 atomistic test structures across 11 material classes, 5 tasks (formation energy, forces, ML relaxation, AI-DFT relaxation, phase stability ranking), public/private leaderboard split (30/70), and four ready-to-run baselines: MACE-MP-0, HydraGNN, UMA, AllScAIP.

Lupo Pasini, Massimiliano [Oak Ridge National Labo↗
NASA NTRS2011

Mission Possible: BioMedical Experiments on the Space Shuttle

Biomedical research, both applied and basic, was conducted on every Shuttle mission from 1981 to 2011. The Space Shuttle Program enabled NASA investigators and researchers from around the world to address fundamental issues concerning living and working effectively in space. Operationally focused occupational health investigations and tests were given priority by the Shuttle crew and Shuttle Program management for the resolution of acute health issues caused by the rigors of spaceflight. The challenges of research on the Shuttle included: limited up and return mass, limited power, limited crew time, and requirements for containment of hazards. The sheer capacity of the Shuttle for crew and equipment was unsurpassed by any other launch and entry vehicle and the Shuttle Program provided more opportunity for human research than any program before or since. To take advantage of this opportunity, life sciences research programs learned how to: streamline the complicated process of integrating experiments aboard the Shuttle, design experiments and hardware within operational constraints, and integrate requirements between different experiments and with operational countermeasures. We learned how to take advantage of commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and developed a hardware certification process with the flexibility to allow for design changes between flights. We learned the importance of end-to-end testing for experiment hardware with humans-in-the-loop. Most importantly, we learned that the Shuttle Program provided an excellent platform for conducting human research and for developing the systems that are now used to optimize research on the International Space Station. This presentation will include a review of the types of experiments and medical tests flown on the Shuttle and the processes that were used to manifest and conduct the experiments. Learning Objective: This paper provides a description of the challenges related to launching and implementing biomedical experiments aboard the Space Shuttle.

Bopp, E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Development of Human-Spacesuit Interaction Models

Today’s astronaut corps represents a wide range of various anthropometric dimensions. Accommodating this wide range of anthropometry and protecting for size variations in future crews, makes spacesuit sizing and fit a challenging and necessary aspect of suit development. Spacesuit fit can play an important role in performance, but a suit fit assessment, especially in dynamic postures, is difficult without extensive human-in-the-loop testing. One approach to address this issue is to model and simulate the human-spacesuit interactions for a target population early in the design process. The Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) at the NASA Johnson Space Center has been working to incorporate parametric human models based on 3D full-body scan data with spacesuit CAD models that can be driven by the user or imported motion capture data. An articulated spacesuit model combined with a poseable high-fidelity human model allows comparisons to be made between spacesuit capabilities and normal human ranges of motion. Furthermore, predictions can be made as to how a specific individual or population may perform in the suit from the perspective of reach and mobility. In this paper, we will present case study examples of reach, mobility, and fit analyses that can be done with these models and the methodology developed thus far. These models have the potential to become powerful tools for evaluating future spacesuit design architectures from the perspective of optimizing fit and performance.

Jarvis, Sarah↗
DOE OSTI2024

Human-Centered and Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear Operations

Nuclear power plants in the United States are critical to the nation’s energy security, accounting for 20% of all electricity produced for the power grid. As energy needs grow, 100 gigawatts of additional nuclear power will be necessary by 2050, more than double the current capacity. Realizing this target requires cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) that can bring about significant increases in the level of automation. Human-centered AI (HCAI) is a combination of human-centered design (human factors, human-in-the-loop, etc.) with AI/ML to help produce an efficient and reliable system with full consideration for human engagement. This paper provides a comprehensive and novel discussion of HCAI considerations in nuclear power, introducing unique applications for the existing fleet as well as new advanced reactor designs. We include real-life use cases of AI applications to work management processes at nuclear power sites and highlight lessons learned for HCAI.

Hall, Anna↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Task Load Management in Earth Independent Medical Operations

BACKGROUND: Medical care in spaceflight carries a high task load and can easily overwhelm a small crew. Present day operations in low Earth orbit (LEO) offload most medical tasks to ground teams in mission control. This team includes dozens of flight surgeons, specialists, and engineers and supports the on-orbit crew in monitoring environmental systems, tracking medications, guiding procedures, providing expert advice, and many other tasks. However, the physical limitations of the speed of light and technical limitations of bandwidth, channel capacity, and signal processing mean that missions beyond LEO cannot rely on this level of telemedical support. The further we travel from Earth the more these tasks will fall on the shoulders of the crew and the greater the risk of task saturation to the wellbeing of the crew and the success of the mission. Exploration class space crews will need progressively more robust systems for managing task load as they progress further out in space. OVERVIEW: Medical task management systems will need to assist with two broad categories of tasks; cognitively intensive tasks and procedure execution tasks. In both cases the goal is for the systems to operate in the background with minimal human-in-the-loop intervention. To accomplish this such systems will need to be designed with careful consideration for human factors and human systems integration to maximize efficiency, minimize alarm fatigue, and avoid inadvertently increasing task loads. Finally, the key domains of space medicine tasking can be used to map present day and near future technologies to the areas where they are best suited to support and identify gaps which can be targeted for research and development. DISCUSSION: Task load is a major challenge for Earth Independent Medical Operations to overcome. It will require careful coordination between experts in a variety of fields paying attention to human factors and human systems integration as well as technical and medical expertise. If done well medical task management systems can handle many of the tasks currently run by humans in mission control and enable human crews to maintain terrestrial standards of care in the extraterrestrial environment.

Dana Levin↗
DOE OSTI2022

The evolution of the Human Systems and Simulation Laboratory in nuclear power research

The events at Three Mile Island in the United States brought about fundamental changes in the ways that simulation would be used in nuclear operations. The need for research simulators was identified to scientifically study human-centered risk and make recommendations for process control system designs. This paper documents the human factors research conducted at the Human Systems and Simulation Laboratory (HSSL) since its inception in 2010 at Idaho National Laboratory. The facility’s primary purposes are to provide support to utilities for system upgrades and to validate modernized control room concepts. In the last decade, however, as nuclear industry needs have evolved, so too have the purposes of the HSSL. Thus, beyond control room modernization, human factors researchers have evaluated the security of nuclear infrastructure from cyber adversaries and evaluated human-in-the-loop simulations for joint operations with an integrated hydrogen generation plant. Lastly, our review presents research using human reliability analysis techniques with data collected from HSSL-based studies and concludes with potential future directions for the HSSL, including severe accident management and advanced control room technologies.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS2019

In-Flight Evaluation of the Traffic Aware Planner on the NASA HU-25A Guardian Aircraft

NASA’s Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) software is a research-prototype decision support tool that provides pilots with time- and fuel-saving route recommendations that optimize their current trajectory. The software runs on a first-of-a-kind system architecture onboard three aircraft in revenue service conducting operational evaluations with a major domestic airline. Therefore, significant NASA-internal testing is required prior to releasing the software to the partner airline. This paper describes a flight test plan that exercises the functionality of the TAP software in a representative operational environment, describes the system architecture developed and implemented for the NASA Langley HU-25A Guardian aircraft to support the test objectives, presents outcomes of the flight test campaign, and discusses use cases that demonstrate the value of flight testing for this activity.Research into flight path optimization of transport aircraft conducted by the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) has produced an operational concept known as Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests(TASAR) [1, 2]. This near-term concept [3] provides the aircrew with a flight deck decision support tool known asthe Traffic Aware Planner (TAP). The TAP software leverages a growing number of information sources on the flightdeck to make time- and fuel-saving route optimization recommendations to the aircrew while en route. The aircrewcan then use the suggestions provided by the tool to make route change requests with a greater likelihood of acceptanceby air traffic control (ATC). Since TASAR is a concept intended for the current operational environment, it isintentionally designed to have no safety-critical impact or require any changes to current Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) rules and procedures [4, 5].The research prototype TAP system [6–8], explained further in Section III.C, continually incorporates up-to-dateaircraft state data from onboard avionics, as well as the latest position of surrounding traffic, the most recent windforecast, and the most recent convective weather forecast, in order to calculate candidate trajectory modifications thatimprove upon the current active route. These trajectories account for user-selectable objective functions [3] of reducedfuel burn, reduced flight time, or an airline-derived combination of factors known as trip cost. Previous analyses andsimulations have estimated substantial savings for airlines employing this technique within the U.S. National AirspaceSystem (NAS) [9–11]. Operational evaluations with Alaska Airlines seek to validate these projected benefits usingmeasured data while simultaneously providing benefits to the airline [12, 13].The TAP software has undergone a number of human-in-the-loop simulations [14] and flight test activities[15–17] in order to validate the operational concept, evaluate human factors considerations (e.g., workload, usability,distraction, etc.), and to assess the ability of the software to function in a representative operational environment (e.g.,connected to live avionics data, using in-flight internet connectivity, etc.). However, these simulations and flight testcampaigns did not account for the hardware architecture implemented on the three aircraft for Alaska Airlines’operational evaluations of the TAP software. Therefore, a need was identified to thoroughly test the functionality ofthe software in a similar hardware architecture to that of the partner airline’s aircraft. Information regarding testapparatus and environments used to evaluate TAP prior to testing on the HU-25A can be found in reference [18].A campaign of flight trials on a NASA aircraft, the HU-25A Guardian, was conducted to ensure that the researchprototype TAP system functions well in a configuration similar to the Alaska Airlines aircraft prior to deployment.This airborne, networked environment enables an assessment of the operational factors unique to the flight environment. Additionally, this activity evaluated the effectiveness and benefit of new TAP functionality andoperation in a relevant flight environment while allowing the rapid prototyping of new concepts and features.This paper is organized as follows: Section II discusses the details of the flight test plan, flight profiles, and theduties of personnel involved with conducting flight operations. Section III describes the test platform, avionicsequipage, and system architecture. Section IV presents a discussion of results, and Section V contains concludingremarks.

Underwood, Matthew C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Usability Evaluation of Fleet Management Interface for High Density Vertiplex Environments

To meet the rising demand for an Advanced Air Mobility (i.e. urban and rural unmanned aircraft systems) ecosystem, NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) is hosting a series of simulations and flight tests under the High Density Vertiplex sub-project (HDV). HDV aims to develop an integrated automation architecture to support terminal area flight operations. The HDV simulations and flight tests address safety, integration, and operational challenges, while integrated systems and software demonstrate design readiness, robustness, and interoperability. During the initial HDV simulation in 2021, a prototype traffic management tool developed by NASA called Fleet Management Interface (FMI) was tested. FMI was designed to introduce an advanced level of human-automation interaction to aid both Ground Control Station Operators (GCSOs) and Fleet Managers (FMs) in remotely managing flights under their ownership. In a human-in-the-loop simulation, a usability study was conducted with FMI to identify optimal approaches for displaying information for human operators using subjective measures of usability, workload, situation awareness, risk, and trust, along with qualitative feedback. This study consisted of task analysis in which GCSO and FM subjects used an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) environment to develop and execute a plan for two different traffic scenarios of remotely controlled vehicles. In each scenario, a controlled vehicle completed a takeoff, active flight, and landing sequence while automated traffic flew in the background at a rate of 20 operations per hour. In the first scenario, the controlled vehicle flew a nominal route with takeoff and landing at the same vertiport. In the second scenario, the controlled vehicle started on the nominal route, then diverted to an unplanned location mid-flight. Results showed that self-reported performance, usability, trust, and situation awareness ratings of FMI were moderately to strongly high. There were small differences between scenarios, with Scenario 2 being perceived as more unstable, complex, variable, risky, and potentially harmful than Scenario 1. Furthermore, participants described improvements that could be made to create a better user experience. For example, users would like greater configurability of the interface based on their personal information requirements, and they would like the opportunity to review routes before assigning them. The results from this study will inform future development of the FMI with the end goal of creating a reference automation tool for airspace management procedures in AAM. The FMI could be introduced as a potential way to reduce dependency on traditional air navigation services through increased automation in high density vertiplex environments.

vertiplex↗