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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.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
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NASA NTRS1994

Understanding the determinants of problem-solving behavior in a complex environment

It is often argued that problem-solving behavior in a complex environment is determined as much by the features of the environment as by the goals of the problem solver. This article explores a technique to determine the extent to which measured features of a complex environment influence problem-solving behavior observed within that environment. In this study, the technique is used to determine how complex flight deck and air traffic control environment influences the strategies used by airline pilots when controlling the flight path of a modern jetliner. Data collected aboard 16 commercial flights are used to measure selected features of the task environment. A record of the pilots' problem-solving behavior is analyzed to determine to what extent behavior is adapted to the environmental features that were measured. The results suggest that the measured features of the environment account for as much as half of the variability in the pilots' problem-solving behavior and provide estimates on the probable effects of each environmental feature.

Casner, Stephen A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

STS 107 Shuttle Press Kit: Providing 24/7 Space Science Research

Space shuttle mission STS-107, the 28th flight of the space shuttle Columbia and the 113th shuttle mission to date, will give more than 70 international scientists access to both the microgravity environment of space and a set of seven human researchers for 16 uninterrupted days. Columbia's 16-day mission is dedicated to a mixed complement of competitively selected and commercially sponsored research in the space, life and physical sciences. An international crew of seven, including the first Israeli astronaut, will work 24 hours a day in two alternating shifts to carry out experiments in the areas of astronaut health and safety; advanced technology development; and Earth and space sciences. When Columbia is launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A it will carry a SPACEHAB Research Double Module (RDM) in its payload bay. The RDM is a pressurized environment that is accessible to the crew while in orbit via a tunnel from the shuttle's middeck. Together, the RDM and the middeck will accommodate the majority of the mission's payloads/experiments. STS-107 marks the first flight of the RDM, though SPACEHAB Modules and Cargo Carriers have flown on 17 previous space shuttle missions. Astronaut Rick Husband (Colonel, USAF) will command STS-107 and will be joined on Columbia's flight deck by pilot William 'Willie' McCool (Commander, USN). Columbia will be crewed by Mission Specialist 2 (Flight Engineer) Kalpana Chawla (Ph.D.), Mission Specialist 3 (Payload Commander) Michael Anderson (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF), Mission Specialist 1 David Brown (Captain, USN), Mission Specialist 4 Laurel Clark (Commander, USN) and Payload Specialist 1 Ilan Ramon (Colonel, Israeli Air Force), the first Israeli astronaut. STS-107 marks Husband's second flight into space - he served as pilot during STS-96, a 10-day mission that saw the first shuttle docking with the International Space Station. Husband served as Chief of Safety for the Astronaut Office until his selection to command the STS-107 crew. Anderson and Chawla will also be making their second spaceflights. Anderson first flew on STS-89 in January 1998 (the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking mission) while Chawla flew on STS-87 in November 1997 (the fourth U.S. Microgravity Payload flight). McCool, Brown, Clark and Ramon will be making their first flights into space.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2012

Towards an Improved Pilot-Vehicle Interface for Highly Automated Aircraft: Evaluation of the Haptic Flight Control System

The control automation and interaction paradigm (e.g., manual, autopilot, flight management system) used on virtually all large highly automated aircraft has long been an exemplar of breakdowns in human factors and human-centered design. An alternative paradigm is the Haptic Flight Control System (HFCS) that is part of NASA Langley Research Center s Naturalistic Flight Deck Concept. The HFCS uses only stick and throttle for easily and intuitively controlling the actual flight of the aircraft without losing any of the efficiency and operational benefits of the current paradigm. Initial prototypes of the HFCS are being evaluated and this paper describes one such evaluation. In this evaluation we examined claims regarding improved situation awareness, appropriate workload, graceful degradation, and improved pilot acceptance. Twenty-four instrument-rated pilots were instructed to plan and fly four different flights in a fictitious airspace using a moderate fidelity desktop simulation. Three different flight control paradigms were tested: Manual control, Full Automation control, and a simplified version of the HFCS. Dependent variables included both subjective (questionnaire) and objective (SAGAT) measures of situation awareness, workload (NASA-TLX), secondary task performance, time to recognize automation failures, and pilot preference (questionnaire). The results showed a statistically significant advantage for the HFCS in a number of measures. Results that were not statistically significant still favored the HFCS. The results suggest that the HFCS does offer an attractive and viable alternative to the tactical components of today s FMS/autopilot control system. The paper describes further studies that are planned to continue to evaluate the HFCS.

Schutte, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1992

Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) color displays software description: MicroVAX system

This document describes the software created for the Display MicroVAX computer used for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) project on the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV). The software delivery of February 27, 1991, known as the 'baseline display system', is the one described in this document. Throughout this publication, module descriptions are presented in a standardized format which contains module purpose, calling sequence, detailed description, and global references. The global references section includes subroutines, functions, and common variables referenced by a particular module. The system described supports the Research Flight Deck (RFD) of the TSRV. The RFD contains eight Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) which depict a Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display, System Warning Display, Takeoff Performance Monitoring System Display, and Engine Display.

Slominski, Christopher J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Advanced Transport Operating System (ATOPS) color displays software description microprocessor system

This document describes the software created for the Sperry Microprocessor Color Display System used for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) project on the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV). The software delivery known as the 'baseline display system', is the one described in this document. Throughout this publication, module descriptions are presented in a standardized format which contains module purpose, calling sequence, detailed description, and global references. The global reference section includes procedures and common variables referenced by a particular module. The system described supports the Research Flight Deck (RFD) of the TSRV. The RFD contains eight cathode ray tubes (CRTs) which depict a Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display, System Warning Display, Takeoff Performance Monitoring System Display, and Engine Display.

Slominski, Christopher J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

A Multi-Operator Simulation for Investigation of Distributed Air Traffic Management Concepts

This paper discusses the current development of an air traffic operations simulation that supports feasibility research for advanced air traffic management concepts. The Air Traffic Operations Simulation (ATOS) supports the research of future concepts that provide a much greater role for the flight crew in traffic management decision-making. ATOS provides representations of the future communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) infrastructure, a future flight deck systems architecture, and advanced crew interfaces. ATOS also provides a platform for the development of advanced flight guidance and decision support systems that may be required for autonomous operations.

Peters, Mark E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

An Operational Safety and Certification Assessment of a TASAR EFB Application

This paper presents an overview of a Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) Electronic Flight Bag application intended to inform the pilot of trajectory improvement opportunities while en route that result in operational benefits. The results of safety analyses and a detailed review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulatory documents that establish certification and operational approval requirements are presented for TASAR. The safety analyses indicate that TASAR has a likely Failure Effects Classification of “No Effect,” and at most, is no worse than “Minor Effect.” Based on this safety assessment and the detailed review of FAA regulatory documents that determine certification and operational approval requirements, this study concludes that TASAR can be implemented in the flight deck as a Type B software application hosted on a Class 2 Portable Electronic Device (PED) Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). This implementation approach would provide a relatively low-cost path to certification and operational approval for both retrofit and forward fit implementation, while at the same time facilitating the business case for early ADS-B IN equipage. A preliminary review by FAA certification and operational approvers of the analyses presented here confirmed that the conclusions are appropriate and that TASAR will be considered a Type B application.

Koczo, Stefan↗
NASA NTRS1985

An analysis of the application of AI to the development of intelligent aids for flight crew tasks

This report presents the results of a study aimed at developing a basis for applying artificial intelligence to the flight deck environment of commercial transport aircraft. In particular, the study was comprised of four tasks: (1) analysis of flight crew tasks, (2) survey of the state-of-the-art of relevant artificial intelligence areas, (3) identification of human factors issues relevant to intelligent cockpit aids, and (4) identification of artificial intelligence areas requiring further research.

Baron, S.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Physiological and Subjective Responses of Pilots during Advanced Air Mobility Flight Testing with Automated Systems

Aviation is constantly evolving, mostly due to the integration of automated systems into the National Airspace System. This presents a host of challenges and opportunities. NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) project has taken a significant leap forward with a research flight test led by the Integration of Automated Systems (IAS) sub-project. This effort focused on assessing automated flight deck algorithms essential for supporting high-density Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations. Carrying out a two-ship flight test in UAM Maturity Level 4 scenarios, the team evaluated state-of-the-art algorithms, including Hazard Perception and Avoidance (HPA) and flight path management (FPM) systems. This paper investigates into pilots’ physiological and subjective responses during the flight scenarios conducted. In collaboration with Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL), we collected and analyzed live-flight biometric data using eye tracking, mobile brain imaging, and heart rate sensors. The study provides insights into pilots’ workload and cognitive engagement while navigating automated tools, leveraging both biometric data and post-encounter subjective assessments. The research highlights the interaction between human operators and automated systems, contributing valuable lessons learned about gathering human data in live-flight environments. The knowledge acquired from this study enhances our understanding of human factors in automated flight and informs future studies attempting to undertake similar feats.

Kevin J. Monk↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Physiological and Subjective Responses of Pilots During Advanced Air Mobility Flight Testing With Automated Systems

Aviation is constantly evolving, mostly due to the integration of automated systems into the National Airspace System. This presents a host of challenges and opportunities. NASA's Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) project has taken a significant leap forward with a research flight test led by the Integration of Automated Systems (IAS) sub-project. This effort focused on assessing automated flight deck algorithms essential for supporting high-density Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations. Carrying out a two-ship flight test in UAM Maturity Level 4 scenarios, the team evaluated state-of-the-art algorithms, including Hazard Perception and Avoidance (HPA) and flight path management (FPM) systems. This presentation focuses on results of pilots' physiological and subjective responses during the flight scenarios conducted. In collaboration with Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL), we collected and analyzed live-flight biometric data using eye tracking, mobile brain imaging, and heart rate sensors. The data provides insights into pilots' workload and cognitive engagement while navigating automated tools, leveraging both biometric data and post-encounter subjective assessments. The research highlights the interaction between human operators and automated systems, contributing valuable lessons learned about gathering human data in live-flight environments. The knowledge acquired from this endeavor enhances our understanding of human factors in automated flight and informs future studies attempting to undertake similar feats.

air mobility↗
NASA NTRS1980

Synthesized voice approach callouts for air transport operations

A flight simulation experiment was performed to determine the effectiveness of synthesized voice approach callouts for air transport operations. Flight deck data was first collected on scheduled air carrier operations to describe existing pilot-not-flying callout procedures in the flight context and to document the types and amounts of other auditory cockpit information during different types of air carrier operations. A flight simulation scenario for a wide-body jet transport airline training simulator was developed in collaboration with a major U.S. air carrier and flown by three-man crews of qualified line pilots as part of their normally scheduled recurrent training. Each crew flew half their approaches using the experimental synthesized voice approach callout system (SYNCALL) and the other half using the company pilot-not-flying approach callout procedures (PNF). Airspeed and sink rate performance was better with the SYNCALL system than with the PNF system for non-precision approaches. For the one-engine approach, for which SYNCALL made inappropriate deviation callouts, airspeed performance was worse with SYNCALL than with PNF. Reliability of normal altitude approach callouts was comparable for PNF on the line and in the simulator and for SYNCALL in the simulator.

Simpson, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Prototype Conflict Alerting Logic for Free Flight

This paper discusses the development of a prototype alerting system for a conceptual Free Flight environment. The concept assumes that datalink between aircraft is available and that conflicts are primarily resolved on the flight deck. Four alert stages are generated depending on the likelihood of a conflict. If the conflict is not resolved by the flight crews, Air Traffic Control is notified to take over separation authority. The alerting logic is based on probabilistic analysis through modeling of aircraft sensor and trajectory uncertainties. Monte Carlo simulations were used over a range of encounter situations to determine conflict probability. The four alert stages were then defined based on probability of conflict and on the number of avoidance maneuvers available to the flight crew. Preliminary results from numerical evaluations and from a piloted simulator study at NASA Ames Research Center are summarized.

Yang, Lee C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

NASA Langley WINN System Operational Assessment

An operational assessment of the NASA Langley Weather Information Network (WINN) System is presented. The objectives of this program include: 1) Determine if near real-time weather information presented on the flight deck improves pilot situational awareness of weather; and 2) Identify pilot interface issues related to the use of WINN system during test flights. This paper is in viewgraph form.

Jonsson, Jon↗
NASA NTRS2018

Impact of Advanced Synoptics and Simplified Checklists During Aircraft Systems Failures

Abstract—Natural human capacities are becoming increasingly mismatched to the enormous data volumes, processing capabilities, and decision speeds demanded in today’s aviation environment. Increasingly Autonomous Systems (IAS) are uniquely suited to solve this problem. NASA is conducting research and development of IAS - hardware and software systems, utilizing machine learning algorithms, seamlessly integrated with humans whereby task performance of the combined system is significantly greater than the individual components. IAS offer the potential for significantly improved levels of performance and safety that are superior to either human or automation alone. A human-in-the-loop test was conducted in NASA Langley’s Integration Flight Deck B-737-800 simulator to evaluate advanced synoptic pages with simplified interactive electronic checklists as an IAS for routine air carrier flight operations and in response to aircraft system failures. Twelve U.S. airline crews flew various normal and non-normal procedures and their actions and performance were recorded in response to failures. These data are fundamental to and critical for the design and development of future increasingly autonomous systems that can better support the human in the cockpit. Synoptic pages and electronic checklists significantly improved pilot responses to non-normal scenarios, but implementation of these aids and other intelligent assistants have barriers to implementation (e.g., certification cost) that must overcome.

Etherington, Timothy J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

A three body dynamic simulation of a seated tractor rocket escape system for the Space Shuttle

In the tractor-rocket seated-extraction candidate system for Space Shuttle Orbiter crew escape, the crewmember is pulled from his seat and away from the Orbiter via an elastic pendant, using a system of rails to guide the extraction trajectory through an opening on the window frame for flight deck crew and through the side hatch for the middeck crew. A three-body simulation has been developed to model the flight-mechanics aspects of the concept, where the three bodies are the astronaut (six DOF), the tractor rocket (six DOF), and the Shuttle Orbiter (three DOF); attention is given to crewmembers' clearance of the Orbiter structure and engine plumes.

Ondler, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Technology-enabled Airborne Spacing and Merging

Over the last several decades, advances in airborne and groundside technologies have allowed the Air Traffic Service Provider (ATSP) to give safer and more efficient service, reduce workload and frequency congestion, and help accommodate a critically escalating traffic volume. These new technologies have included advanced radar displays, and data and communication automation to name a few. In step with such advances, NASA Langley is developing a precision spacing concept designed to increase runway throughput by enabling the flight crews to manage their inter-arrival spacing from TRACON entry to the runway threshold. This concept is being developed as part of NASA s Distributed Air/Ground Traffic Management (DAG-TM) project under the Advanced Air Transportation Technologies Program. Precision spacing is enabled by Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which provides air-to-air data exchange including position and velocity reports; real-time wind information and other necessary data. On the flight deck, a research prototype system called Airborne Merging and Spacing for Terminal Arrivals (AMSTAR) processes this information and provides speed guidance to the flight crew to achieve the desired inter-arrival spacing. AMSTAR is designed to support current ATC operations, provide operationally acceptable system-wide increases in approach spacing performance and increase runway throughput through system stability, predictability and precision spacing. This paper describes problems and costs associated with an imprecise arrival flow. It also discusses methods by which Air Traffic Controllers achieve and maintain an optimum interarrival interval, and explores means by which AMSTAR can assist in this pursuit. AMSTAR is an extension of NASA s previous work on in-trail spacing that was successfully demonstrated in a flight evaluation at Chicago O Hare International Airport in September 2002. In addition to providing for precision inter-arrival spacing, AMSTAR provides speed guidance for aircraft on converging routes to safely and smoothly merge onto a common approach. Much consideration has been given to working with operational conditions such as imperfect ADS-B data, wind prediction errors, changing winds, differing aircraft types and wake vortex separation requirements. A series of Monte Carlo simulations are planned for the spring and summer of 2004 at NASA Langley to further study the system behavior and performance under more operationally extreme and varying conditions. This will coincide with a human-in-the-loop study to investigate the flight crew interface, workload and acceptability.

Hull, James↗
NASA NTRS2008

Synthetic Vision for Lunar and Planetary Landing Vehicles

The Crew Vehicle Interface (CVI) group of the Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck Technologies (IIFDT) has done extensive research in the area of Synthetic Vision (SV), and has shown that SV technology can substantially enhance flight crew situation awareness, reduce pilot workload, promote flight path control precision and improve aviation safety. SV technology is being extended to evaluate its utility for lunar and planetary exploration vehicles. SV may hold significant potential for many lunar and planetary missions since the SV presentation provides a computer-generated view of the terrain and other significant environment characteristics independent of the outside visibility conditions, window locations, or vehicle attributes. SV allows unconstrained control of the computer-generated scene lighting, terrain coloring, and virtual camera angles which may provide invaluable visual cues to pilots/astronauts and in addition, important vehicle state information may be conformally displayed on the view such as forward and down velocities, altitude, and fuel remaining to enhance trajectory control and vehicle system status. This paper discusses preliminary SV concepts for tactical and strategic displays for a lunar landing vehicle. The technical challenges and potential solutions to SV applications for the lunar landing mission are explored, including the requirements for high resolution terrain lunar maps and an accurate position and orientation of the vehicle that is essential in providing lunar Synthetic Vision System (SVS) cockpit displays. The paper also discusses the technical challenge of creating an accurate synthetic terrain portrayal using an ellipsoid lunar digital elevation model which eliminates projection errors and can be efficiently rendered in real-time.

Williams, Steven P.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Identification of Scenarios for System Interface Design Evaluation: CAST SE-210 Output 2 Report 5 of 6

This report is one in a series of reports describing research to develop enhanced approaches to design and evaluation of flight deck interaction. The research was conducted to support the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) response to incidents and accidents caused by failure of the flight crew to maintain aircraft attitude or energy state awareness. This report partially responds to Safety Enhancement (SE) 210.2 (CAST, 2014) by describing development of operational scenarios for evaluation of flight crew interaction. Evaluations of human performance with an interface rely on asking humans to perform operational tasks in an appropriate operational context. The report includes the major sources of material for developing operational scenarios—which include system state, operational tasks, operational context, and safety events—and a method for developing an appropriate set of operational scenarios for interface evaluation.

commercial aviation↗