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The purpose of this paper is to describe a HyperCard-based system for performing speech recognition research and to instruct Human Factors professionals on how to use the system to obtain detailed data about the user interface of a prototype speech recognition application.
NASA and the FAA have designed and developed and an automation tool known as the Traffic Management Advisor (TMA). The system was operationally evaluated at the Ft. Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The TMA is a time-based strategic planning tool that provides Traffic Management Coordinators and En Route Air Traffic Controllers the ability to efficiently optimize the capacity of a demand impacted airport. The TMA consists of trajectory prediction, constraint-based runway scheduling, traffic flow visualization and controllers advisories. The TMA was used and operationally evaluated for forty-one rush traffic periods during a one month period in the Summer of 1996. The evaluations included all shifts of air traffic operations as well as periods of inclement weather. Performance data was collected for engineering and human factor analysis and compared with similar operations without the TMA. The engineering data indicates that the operations with the TMA show a one to two minute per aircraft delay reduction during rush periods. The human factor data indicate a perceived reduction in en route controller workload as well as an increase in job satisfaction. Upon completion of the evaluation, the TMA has become part of the normal operations at the Ft. Worth ARTCC.
Stress, fatigue, and workload affect worker performance. NSF reported that 61% of respondents state losing concentration at work while 79% occasionally or frequently made errors as a result of being fatigued. Shift work, altered work schedules, long hours of continuous wakefulness, and sleep loss can create sleep and circadian disruptions that degrade waking fundions causing stress and fatigue. Review of the literature has proven void of information that links the combined effects of fatigue, stress, and workload to human performance. This paper will address which occupational factors within stress, fatigue, and workload were identified as occupational contributors to performance changes. The results of this research will be apglied to underlying models and algorithms that will help predict performance changes in control room operators.
This paper describes the design, development and results from a high fidelity human-in-the-loop simulation of an integrated set of trajectory-based automation tools providing precision scheduling, sequencing and controller merging and spacing functions. These integrated functions are combined into a system called the Terminal Area Precision Scheduling and Spacing (TAPSS) system. It is a strategic and tactical planning tool that provides Traffic Management Coordinators, En Route and Terminal Radar Approach Control air traffic controllers the ability to efficiently optimize the arrival capacity of a demand-impacted airport while simultaneously enabling fuel-efficient descent procedures. The TAPSS system consists of four-dimensional trajectory prediction, arrival runway balancing, aircraft separation constraint-based scheduling, traffic flow visualization and trajectory-based advisories to assist controllers in efficient metering, sequencing and spacing. The TAPSS system was evaluated and compared to today's ATC operation through extensive series of human-in-the-loop simulations for arrival flows into the Los Angeles International Airport. The test conditions included the variation of aircraft demand from a baseline of today's capacity constrained periods through 5%, 10% and 20% increases. Performance data were collected for engineering and human factor analysis and compared with similar operations both with and without the TAPSS system. The engineering data indicate operations with the TAPSS show up to a 10% increase in airport throughput during capacity constrained periods while maintaining fuel-efficient aircraft descent profiles from cruise to landing.
A review of selected programs which illustrate the research efforts of the U.S. Army Aeromechanics Laboratory in the area of aircrew-aircraft integration is presented. Plans for research programs to support the development of future military rotorcraft are also described. The crew of a combat helicopter must, in general, perform two major functions during the conduct of a particular mission: flightpath control and mission management. Accordingly, the research programs described are being conducted in the same two major categories: (1) flightpath control, which encompasses the areas of handling qualities, stability and control, and displays for the pilot's control of the rotorcraft's flightpath, and (2) mission management, which includes human factors and cockpit integration research topics related to performance of navigation, communication, and aircraft systems management tasks.
A review of selected programs which illustrate the research efforts of the U.S. Army Aeromechanics Laboratory in the area of aircrew-aircraft integration is presented. Plans for research programs to support the development of future military rotorcraft are also described. The crew of a combat helicopter must, in general, perform two major functions during the conduct of a particular mission: flightpath control and mission management. Accordingly, the research programs described are being conducted in the same two major categories: (1) flightpath control, which encompasses the areas of handling qualities, stability and control, and displays for the pilot's control of the rotorcraft's flightpath, and (2) mission management, which includes human factors and cockpit integration research topics related to performance of navigation, communication, and aircraft systems management tasks.
Research in a continuously programmed human experimental laboratory has been directed toward identifying, defining, and expanding generalized knowledge concerning motivational factors within the structure of human behavioral repertoires that maintain and enhance performance. Participants (in groups of three) engaged in a series of repetitive work activities (e.g., word sorting and rug-hooking) for extended periods each day, while living continuously in a residential laboratory. Other parts of the day were spent either interacting socially with other participants or engaging in individual recreational activities. The percentage of time devoted to the various work tasks provided the basis for selecting one activity that occurred with high frequency and one with low frequency. Performance of the low-frequency activity was then required in order to gain access to the high-frequency activity. Under such contingencies, time devoted to the original low-frequency activity increased greatly, and the participants consistently did more than the required amount of the low-frequency work than was necessary to restore access to the restricted work activity. The theoretical significance of these findings resides in the clear demonstration that a time-based model of value applies as well to the enhancement of work-like performance as it does to voluntarily selected or preferred recreational activities.
NASA is investigating eXternal Visibility Systems (XVS) concepts which are a combination of sensor and display technologies designed to achieve an equivalent level of safety and performance to that provided by forward-facing windows in today s subsonic aircraft. This report provides the background for conceptual XVS design standards for display and sensor resolution. XVS resolution requirements were derived from the basis of equivalent performance. Three measures were investigated: a) human vision performance; b) see-and-avoid performance and safety; and c) see-to-follow performance. From these three factors, a minimum but perhaps not sufficient resolution requirement of 60 pixels per degree was shown for human vision equivalence. However, see-and-avoid and see-to-follow performance requirements are nearly double. This report also reviewed historical XVS testing.
A new strategy in the way in which the United States nuclear power plants (NPPs) are operated, maintained, and supported is needed. One such strategy is to transform the NPP operating model through a business-driven approach that leverages technology to enable new capabilities that improve performance and reduce cost. This paper presents a methodology for developing an achievable yet transformative new state vision that ensures continued safe and efficient operations of the United States NPP fleet. This work builds on existing guidance and leverages previous research to comprehensively address both bottom-up (i.e., utility needs) and top-down (i.e., first principles) considerations important for developing a new state vision. The proposed methodology is intended to provide industry-wide guidance for developing a new state vision that leverages both the selected vendor’s capabilities in a way that meets the utility’s modernization goals while ensuring state-of-the-art systems engineering and human factors engineering principles are applied that promote overall plant safety, performance, and efficiency.
With the ending of the Space Shuttle Program, it is critical that we not forget the Human Factors lessons we have learned over the years. At every phase of the life cycle, from manufacturing, processing and integrating vehicle and payload, to launch, flight operations, mission control and landing, hundreds of teams have worked together to achieve mission success in one of the most complex, high-risk socio-technical enterprises ever designed. Just as there was great diversity in the types of operations performed at every stage, there was a myriad of human factors that could further complicate these human systems. A single mishap or close call could point to issues at the individual level (perceptual or workload limitations, training, fatigue, human error susceptibilities), the task level (design of tools, procedures and aspects of the workplace), as well as the organizational level (appropriate resources, safety policies, information access and communication channels). While we have often had to learn through human mistakes and technological failures, we have also begun to understand how to design human systems in which individuals can excel, where tasks and procedures are not only safe but efficient, and how organizations can foster a proactive approach to managing risk and supporting human enterprises. Panelists will talk about their experiences as they relate human factors to a particular phase of the shuttle life cycle. They will conclude with a framework for tying together human factors lessons-learned into system-level risk management strategies.
The practical problems that might be encountered in carrying out workload evaluations in work settings have been outlined. Different approaches have been distinguished that may determine the type of research design used and provide assistance in the difficult choice between workload assessment techniques. One approach to workload assessment is to examine the short-term consequences of combining various tasks. Theoretical models of attention allocation will underpin specific studies of interference and the consequences of task demand and task conflict for performance. A further approach with a different temporal orientation may lead us to a better understanding of the relationships between work demands and strain through the analysis of individual differences in cognitive control processes. The application of these processes may depend on individual differences in long term styles and short term strategies, but may be used to prevent decrements in work performance under difficult conditions. However, control may attract costs as well as benefits in terms of changes in effective state and physiological activity. Thus, strain associated with work demands may only be measurable in the form of tradeoffs between performance and other domains of individual activity. The methodological implications are to identify patterns of adjustment to workload variations using repeated measures and longitudinal sampling of performance as well as subjective and physiological measures. Possible enhancements to workplace design must take into account these human factors considerations of workload in order to avoid potential decrements in individual performance and associated organizational problems.
Maintaining optimal alertness and neurobehavioral functioning during space operations is critical to enable the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) vision "to extend humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars and beyond" to become a reality. Field data have demonstrated that sleep times and performance of crewmembers can be compromised by extended duty days, irregular work schedules, high workload, and varying environmental factors. This paper documents evidence of significant sleep loss and disruption of circadian rhythms in astronauts and associated performance decrements during several space missions, which demonstrates the need to develop effective countermeasures. Both sleep and circadian disruptions have been identified in the Behavioral Health and Performance (BH&P) area and the Advanced Human Support Technology (AHST) area of NASA's Bioastronautics Critical Path Roadmap. Such disruptions could have serious consequences on the effectiveness, health, and safety of astronaut crews, thus reducing the safety margin and increasing the chances of an accident or incident. These decrements oftentimes can be difficult to detect and counter effectively in restrictive operational environments. NASA is focusing research on the development of optimal sleep/wake schedules and countermeasure timing and application to help mitigate the cumulative effects of sleep and circadian disruption and enhance operational performance. Investing research in humans is one of NASA's building blocks that will allow for both short- and long-duration space missions and help NASA in developing approaches to manage and overcome the human limitations of space travel. In addition to reviewing the current state of knowledge concerning sleep and circadian disruptions during space operations, this paper provides an overview of NASA's broad research goals. Also, NASA-funded research, designed to evaluate the relationships between sleep quality, circadian rhythm stability, and performance proficiency in both ground-based simulations and space mission studies, as described in the 2003 NASA Task Book, will be reviewed.
This document contains papers from a specialists' meeting entitled "Piloting Vertical Flight Aircraft. A Conference on Flying Qualities and Human Factors." The conference was co-sponsored by the American Helicopter Society--San Francisco Bay Chapter, and the NASA Ames Research Center. It was held January 20-22, 1993 at the Sheraton Hotel Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California. Vertical flight aircraft, including helicopters and a variety of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) concepts, place unique requirements on human perception, control, and performance for the conduct of their design missions. The intent of this conference was to examine, for these vehicles, advances in: (1) design of flight control systems for ADS-33C standards; (2) assessment of human factors influences of cockpit displays and operational procedures; (3) development of VTOL design and operational criteria; and (4) development of theoretical methods or models for predicting pilot-vehicle performance and mission suitability. Recognizing that human capabilities and limitations form an integral aspect of the operations for these classes of vehicles, a secondary goal of the conference was to provide an initial venue for enhanced interaction between human factors and handling qualities specialists.
The scope of automation, the benefits of automation, and automation-induced problems were discussed at a workshop held to determine whether those functions previously performed manually on the flight deck of commercial aircraft should always be automated in view of various human factors. Issues which require research for resolution were identified. The research questions developed are presented.
The Immersive Simulations and Engineering Environment (ISEE) Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center is a tool used to assist with operation simulation, for Human Factors operation activities, assisting future missions. The simulations created are important because they ensure that simulated operations are performed for customers, to assist with requirements. Simultaneously, each simulation will allow stakeholders to determine any and all risk associated with the Human Factors involved in a specific assignment. My internship consists of multiple project elements. The first of which, was to assist the Integrations branch chief in developing a growth rate algorithm proof. The integral part of this project, involved learning to powerup and perform the operational procedures of the ISEE lab, capturing and creating characters used in the CAD model virtual environment. In doing so, this led to use the software to model and 3D print screw cap structures for mock-up. The structures will be used to manipulate weight change out used in mock-up design and construction. These structures will also be used in future mock-up models constructed in the lab.
The goal of this work was to analytically identify and quantify the issues, challenges, technical hurdles, and pilot-vehicle interface issues associated with conflict detection and resolution (CD&R)in emerging operational concepts for a NextGen terminal aneuvering area, including surface operations. To this end, the work entailed analytical and trade studies focused on modeling the achievable safety benefits of different CD&R strategies and concepts in the current and future airport environment. In addition, crew-vehicle interface and pilot performance enhancements and potential issues were analyzed based on review of envisioned NextGen operations, expected equipage advances, and human factors expertise. The results of perturbation analysis, which quantify the high-level performance impact of changes to key parameters such as median response time and surveillance position error, show that the analytical model developed could be useful in making technology investment decisions.
Two experiments examined perceived spatial orientation in a small environment as a function of experiencing that environment under three conditions: real-world, desktop-display (DD), and head-mounted display (HMD). Across the three conditions, participants acquired two targets located on a perimeter surrounding them, and attempted to remember the relative locations of the targets. Subsequently, participants were tested on how accurately and consistently they could point in the remembered direction of a previously seen target. Results showed that participants were significantly more consistent in the real-world and HMD conditions than in the DD condition. Further, it is shown that the advantages observed in the HMD and real-world conditions were not simply due to nonspatial response strategies. These results suggest that the additional idiothetic information afforded in the real-world and HMD conditions is useful for orientation purposes in our presented task domain. Our results are relevant to interface design issues concerning tasks that require spatial search, navigation, and visualization.
The early Constellation space missions are expected to have medical capabilities very similar to those currently on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). For Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) missions to the ISS, medical equipment will be located on the ISS, and carried into CEV in the event of an emergency. Flight surgeons (FS) on the ground in Mission Control will be expected to direct the crew medical officer (CMO) during medical situations. If there is a loss of signal and the crew is unable to communicate with the ground, a CMO would be expected to carry out medical procedures without the aid of a FS. In these situations, performance support tools can be used to reduce errors and time to perform emergency medical tasks. The space medical training work is part of the Human Factors in Training Directed Research Project (DRP) of the Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Project under the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) Element of the Human Research Program (HRP). This is a joint project consisting of human factors team from the Ames Research Center (ARC) with Immanuel Barshi as Principal Investigator and the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Human factors researchers at JSC have recently investigated medical performance support tools for CMOs on-orbit, and FSs on the ground, and researchers at the Ames Research Center performed a literature review on medical errors. Work on medical training has been conducted in collaboration with the Medical Training Group at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and with Wyle Laboratories that provides medical training to crew members, biomedical engineers (BMEs), and to flight surgeons under the Bioastronautics contract. One area of research building on activities from FY08, involved the feasibility of just-in-time (JIT) training techniques and concepts for real-time medical procedures. A second area of research involves FS performance support tools. Information needed by the FS during the ISS mission support, especially for an emergency situation (e.g., fire onboard ISS), may be located in many different places around the FS s console. A performance support tool prototype is being developed to address this issue by bringing all of the relevant information together in one place. The tool is designed to include procedures and other information needed by a FS during an emergency, as well as procedures and information to be used after the emergency is resolved. Several walkthroughs of the prototype with FSs have been completed within a mockup of an ISS FS console. Feedback on the current tool design as well as recommendations for existing ISS FS displays were captured. The tool could have different uses depending on the situation and the skill of the user. An experienced flight surgeon could use it during an emergency situation as a decision and performance support tool, whereas a new flight surgeon could use it as JITT, or part of his/her regular training. The work proposed for FY10 continues to build on this strong collaboration with the Space Medical Training Group and previous research.