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Risk Acceptance Personality Paradigm: How We View What We Don't Know We Don't Know

The purpose of integrated hazard analyses, probabilistic risk assessments, failure modes and effects analyses, fault trees and many other similar tools is to give managers of a program some idea of the risks associated with their program. All risk tools establish a set of undesired events and then try to evaluate the risk to the program by assessing the severity of the undesired event and the likelihood of that event occurring. Some tools provide qualitative results, some provide quantitative results and some do both. However, in the end the program manager and his/her team must decide which risks are acceptable and which are not. Even with a wide array of analysis tools available, risk acceptance is often a controversial and difficult decision making process. And yet, today's space exploration programs are moving toward more risk based design approaches. Thus, risk identification and good risk assessment is becoming even more vital to the engineering development process. This paper explores how known and unknown information influences risk-based decisions by looking at how the various parts of our personalities are affected by what they know and what they don't know. This paper then offers some criteria for consideration when making risk-based decisions.

Massie, Michael J.↗

Probabilistic Requirements (Partial) Verification Methods Best Practices Improvement. Variables Acceptance Sampling Calculators: Derivations and Verification of Plans

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center was requested to improve on the Best Practices document produced for the NESC assessment, Verification of Probabilistic Requirements for the Constellation Program, by giving a recommended procedure for using acceptance sampling by variables techniques. This recommended procedure would be used as an alternative to the potentially resource-intensive acceptance sampling by attributes method given in the document. This document contains the outcome of the assessment.

Johnson, Kenneth L.↗

NASA Controller Acceptability Study 1(CAS-1) Experiment Description and Initial Observations

This paper describes the Controller Acceptability Study 1 (CAS-1) experiment that was conducted by NASA Langley Research Center personnel from January through March 2014 and presents partial CAS-1 results. CAS-1 employed 14 air traffic controller volunteers as research subjects to assess the viability of simulated future unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operating alongside manned aircraft in moderate-density, moderate-complexity Class E airspace. These simulated UAS were equipped with a prototype pilot-in-the-loop (PITL) Detect and Avoid (DAA) system, specifically the Self-Separation (SS) function of such a system based on Stratway+ software to replace the see-and-avoid capabilities of manned aircraft pilots. A quantitative CAS-1 objective was to determine horizontal miss distance (HMD) values for SS encounters that were most acceptable to air traffic controllers, specifically HMD values that were assessed as neither unsafely small nor disruptively large. HMD values between 0.5 and 3.0 nautical miles (nmi) were assessed for a wide array of encounter geometries between UAS and manned aircraft. The paper includes brief introductory material about DAA systems and their SS functions, followed by descriptions of the CAS-1 simulation environment, prototype PITL SS capability, and experiment design, and concludes with presentation and discussion of partial CAS-1 data and results.

Chamberlain, James P.↗

ACCEPT: Introduction of the Adverse Condition and Critical Event Prediction Toolbox

The prediction of anomalies or adverse events is a challenging task, and there are a variety of methods which can be used to address the problem. In this paper, we introduce a generic framework developed in MATLAB (sup registered mark) called ACCEPT (Adverse Condition and Critical Event Prediction Toolbox). ACCEPT is an architectural framework designed to compare and contrast the performance of a variety of machine learning and early warning algorithms, and tests the capability of these algorithms to robustly predict the onset of adverse events in any time-series data generating systems or processes.

machine learning↗

UAS Air Traffic Controller Acceptability Study: Evaluating Detect and Avoid Technology and Communication Delays in Simulation - 2

This study evaluated the effects of communications delays and winds on air traffic controller ratings of acceptability of horizontal miss distances (HMDs) for encounters between Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and manned aircraft in a simulation of the Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) airspace. Fourteen encounters per hour were staged in the presence of moderate background traffic. Seven recently retired controllers with experience at DFW served as subjects. Guidance provided to the UAS pilots for maintaining a given HMD was provided by information from Detect and Avoid (DAA) self-separation algorithms (Stratway+) displayed on the Multi-Aircraft Control System. This guidance consisted of amber "bands" on the heading scale of the UAS navigation display indicating headings that would result in a loss of well clear between the UAS and nearby traffic. Winds tested were successfully handled by the DAA algorithms and did not affect the controller acceptability ratings of the HMDs. Voice communications delays for the UAS were also tested and included one-way delay times of 0, 400, 1200, and 1800 msec. For longer communications delays, there were changes in strategy and communications flow that were observed and reported by the controllers. The aim of this work is to provide useful information for guiding future rules and regulations applicable to flying UAS in the NAS. Information from this study will also be of value to the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Special Committee 228 - Minimum Performance Standards for UAS.

Comstock, James R., Jr.↗

Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System

The capability to grow nutritious, palatable food for crew consumption during spaceflight has the potential to provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients, enhance the dietary experience, and reduce launch mass as we move toward longer-duration missions. However, studies of edible produce during spaceflight have been limited, leaving a significant knowledge gap in the methods required to grow safe, acceptable, nutritious crops for consumption in space. Researchers from Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Purdue University and ORBITEC have teamed up to explore the potential for plant growth and food production on the International Space Station (ISS) and future exploration missions. KSC, Purdue, and ORBITEC bring a history of plant and plant-microbial interaction research for ISS and for future bioregenerative life support systems. JSC brings expertise in Advanced Food Technology (AFT), Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP), and statistics. The Veggie vegetable-production system on the ISS offers an opportunity to develop a pick-and-eat fresh vegetable component to the ISS food system as a first step to bioregenerative supplemental food production. We propose growing salad plants in the Veggie unit during spaceflight, focusing on the impact of light quality and fertilizer formulation on crop morphology, edible biomass yield, microbial food safety, organoleptic acceptability, nutritional value, and behavioral health benefits of the fresh produce. The first phase of the project will involve flight tests using leafy greens, with a small Chinese cabbage variety, Tokyo bekana, previously down selected through a series of research tests as a suitable candidate. The second phase will focus on dwarf tomato. Down selection of candidate varieties have been performed, and the dwarf cultivar Red Robin has been selected as the test crop. Four light treatments and three fertilizer treatments will be tested for each crop on the ground, to down select to two light treatments and one fertilizer treatment to test on ISS. Our work will help define light colors, levels, and horticultural best practices to achieve high yields of safe, nutritious leafy greens and tomatoes to supplement a space diet of prepackaged food. Our final deliverable will be the development of growth protocols for these crops in a spaceflight vegetable production system. With this work, and potentially with other pending joint projects, we will continue the synergistic research to help close gaps in the human research roadmap, and enable humans to venture to Mars and beyond. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

Behavioral Health↗

Results of the Updated NASA Kennedy Space Center 50-MHz Doppler Radar Wind Profiler Operational Acceptance Test

We present here the methodology and results of the Operational Acceptance Test (OAT) performed on the new Kennedy Space Center (KSC) 50-MHz Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (DRWP). On day-of-launch (DOL), space launch vehicle operators have used data from the DRWP to invalidate winds in prelaunch loads and trajectory assessments due to the DRWP's capability to quickly identify changes in the wind profile within a rapidly-changing wind environment. The previous DRWP has been replaced with a completely new system, which needs to undergo certification testing before being accepted for use in range operations. The new DRWP replaces the previous three-beam system made of coaxial cables and a copper wire ground plane with a four-beam system that uses Yagi antennae with enhanced beam steering capability. In addition, the new system contains updated user interface software while maintaining the same general capability as the previous system. The new DRWP continues to use the Median Filter First Guess (MFFG) algorithm to generate a wind profile from Doppler spectra at each range gate. DeTect (2015) contains further details on the upgrade. The OAT is a short-term test designed so that end users can utilize the new DRWP in a similar manner to the previous DRWP during mission operations at the Eastern Range in the midst of a long-term certification process. This paper describes the Marshall Space Flight Center Natural Environments Branch's (MSFC NE's) analyses to verify the quality and accuracy of the DRWP's meteorological data output as compared to the previous DRWP. Ultimately, each launch vehicle program has the responsibility to certify the system for their own use.

Barbre', Robert E., Jr.↗

UAS Air Traffic Controller Acceptability Study-2: Effects of Communications Delays and Winds in Simulation

This study evaluated the effects of Communications Delays and Winds on Air Traffic Controller ratings of acceptability of horizontal miss distances (HMDs) for encounters between UAS and manned aircraft in a simulation of the Dallas-Ft. Worth East-side airspace. Fourteen encounters per hour were staged in the presence of moderate background traffic. Seven recently retired controllers with experience at DFW served as subjects. Guidance provided to the UAS pilots for maintaining a given HMD was provided by information from self-separation algorithms displayed on the Multi-Aircraft Simulation System. Winds tested did not affect the acceptability ratings. Communications delays tested included 0, 400, 1200, and 1800 msec. For longer communications delays, there were changes in strategy and communications flow that were observed and reported by the controllers. The aim of this work is to provide useful information for guiding future rules and regulations applicable to flying UAS in the NAS.

Comstock, James R., Jr.↗

Air Traffic Controller Acceptability of Unmanned Aircraft System Detect-and-Avoid Thresholds

A human-in-the-loop experiment was conducted with 15 retired air traffic controllers to investigate two research questions: (a) what procedures are appropriate for the use of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) detect-and-avoid systems, and (b) how long in advance of a predicted close encounter should pilots request or execute a separation maneuver. The controller participants managed a busy Oakland air route traffic control sector with mixed commercial/general aviation and manned/UAS traffic, providing separation services, miles-in-trail restrictions and issuing traffic advisories. Controllers filled out post-scenario and post-simulation questionnaires, and metrics were collected on the acceptability of procedural options and temporal thresholds. The states of aircraft were also recorded when controllers issued traffic advisories. Subjective feedback indicated a strong preference for pilots to request maneuvers to remain well clear from intruder aircraft rather than deviate from their IFR clearance. Controllers also reported that maneuvering at 120 seconds until closest point of approach (CPA) was too early; maneuvers executed with less than 90 seconds until CPA were more acceptable. The magnitudes of the requested maneuvers were frequently judged to be too large, indicating a possible discrepancy between the quantitative UAS well clear standard and the one employed subjectively by manned pilots. The ranges between pairs of aircraft and the times to CPA at which traffic advisories were issued were used to construct empirical probability distributions of those metrics. Given these distributions, we propose that UAS pilots wait until an intruder aircraft is approximately 80 seconds to CPA or 6 nmi away before requesting a maneuver, and maneuver immediately if the intruder is within 60 seconds and 4 nmi. These thresholds should make the use of UAS detect and avoid systems compatible with current airspace procedures and controller expectations.

unmanned aircraft systems↗

Assessment of Air Traffic Controller Acceptability of Aircrew Route Change Requests

NASA developed the traffic aware strategic aircrew requests concept for a cockpit automation that identifies route improvements and advises the aircrew to request the change from the air traffic controller. In order to increase the chance of air traffic control approval, the automation ensures that the route is clear of known traffic, weather, and airspace restrictions. Hence the technology is anticipated to provide benefits in areas such as flight efficiency, flight schedule compliance, passenger comfort, and pilot and controller workload. In support of a field trial of a prototype of the technology, observations were conducted at the Atlanta and Jacksonville air traffic control centers to identify the main factors that affect the acceptability of aircrew requests by air traffic controllers. Observers shadowed air traffic controllers as the test flight pilot made pre-scripted requests to invoke acceptability issues and then they interviewed voluntarily fifty controllers with experience ranging from one to thirty-five years. The most common reason for rejecting requests is conflicting with traffic followed by violating air traffic procedures, increasing sector workload, and conflicting with major arrival and departure flows and flow restrictions. Quantitative parameters such as the distance that a route should maintain from sector boundaries and special use airspace were identified and recommended for inclusion in the automation.

Flight Optimization; Field Trial↗

Assessment of Air Traffic Controller Acceptability of Aircrew Route Change Requests

NASA developed the traffic aware strategic aircrew requests concept for a cockpit automation that identifies route improvements and advises the aircrew to request the change from the air traffic controller. In order to increase the chance of air traffic control approval, the automation ensures that the route is clear of known traffic, weather, and airspace restrictions. Hence the technology is anticipated to provide benefits in areas such as flight efficiency, flight schedule compliance, passenger comfort, and pilot and controller workload. In support of a field trial of a prototype of the technology, observations were conducted at the Atlanta and Jacksonville air traffic control centers to identify the main factors that affect the acceptability of aircrew requests by air traffic controllers. Observers shadowed air traffic controllers as the test flight pilot made pre-scripted requests to invoke acceptability issues and then they interviewed voluntarily fifty controllers with experience ranging from one to thirty-five years. The most common reason for rejecting requests is conflicting with traffic followed by violating air traffic procedures, increasing sector workload, and conflicting with major arrival and departure flows and flow restrictions. Quantitative parameters such as the distance that a route should maintain from sector boundaries and special use airspace were identified and recommended for inclusion in the automation.

Flight Optimization; Field Trial↗

Prediction of Adverse Events in Time Series Data Using ACCEPT (Adverse Condition and Critical Event Prediction Toolbox)

Abstract:An open-source toolbox called ACCEPT (Adverse Condition and Critical Event Prediction Toolbox) that operates from within the Matlab programming environment is introduced. The toolbox provides an open source, special-purpose functionality that can be used specifically for the prediction or forecasting of adverse events in time series data. It also provides a single, unifying framework in which to compare a variety of combinations of algorithmic approaches addressing this problem. The architectural framework also offers the flexibility for expansion to accommodate the newest, latest popular regression and detection methods for this particular problem, enabling the development of an infrastructure that can act as a proving ground platform for comparing new techniques to the state of the art. As such, its intention is to act as a catalyst in advancing the state of the art in technologies related to this problem. There are a variety of other toolboxes that offer similar capabilities and features, however they are either more suitable as general purpose machine learning toolboxes or are only available commercially or through agreements. ACCEPT fills that niche by offering visibility into a specific approach for addressing the adverse event prediction problem.

programming environments↗

Factors that Influence Community’s Acceptance of Noise: An Introduction for Urban Air Mobility

Noise has been identified as a major challenge to community acceptance of Urban Air Mobility Systems. The purpose of this paper is to assist designers, developers, and implementers in understanding the various factors–from the noise source itself to the conditions of the community–that influence how the community is likely to respond to the introduction of a new noise source. Particular consideration is given to the role of non-acoustical factors and suggestions are offered as to how future research could help advance the understanding of community acceptance of Urban Air Mobility and other emergent vehicle systems.

Connors, Mary M.↗

eVTOL Passenger Acceptance

With the expected introduction of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility (UAM) services, passenger acceptance has become an issue of interest to manufacturers and operators. This study took an initial look at what passengers expect from an eVTOL UAM flight experience – what aspects matter most, what might be acceptable, and where there are gaps in our understanding. The analysis included a literature search and interviews with experts from the aviation community to identify passenger concerns and potential mitigations. Passenger concerns were found to fall into six general categories: perceived safety, noise and vibration, availability and access, passenger well-being, concern for the environment, and vehicle motion. The study used a modified quality function deployment approach to correlate these passenger concerns with design and operational variables, highlighting how design and operational parameters can mitigate the passenger concerns. NASA research can address the passenger concerns by developing simulation capabilities and noise models, characterizing propulsion system performance, taking direct measurem and conducting further studies of market demand and design methods.

Edwards, Thomas↗

Public Trust and Acceptance for Concepts of Remotely Operated Urban Air Mobility Transportation

There is building interest within industry and government to enable Urban Air Mobility (i.e., air-taxies). One concept envisions remotely piloted aircraft, yet it is unclear how this will impact public trust and acceptance. Method: Two hundred participants read vignettes describing remotely-piloted UAM operations and then responded to a series of questionnaires. The study employed a one-way between-subjects design manipulating five levels of Pilot-in-Command Distance: Onboard Pilot; Remote Control Pilot; Dedicated Remote Operator; Remote Operator; System Manager. Results: The Remote Control Pilot group indicated they would be less likely than the Onboard Pilot Group to use UAM, based on the mediating effect of trust in the automation. The Remote Control Pilot and Remote Operator groups indicated they would be less likely to use UAM than the Onboard Pilot group, based on the mediating effect of trust in the remote pilot/operator. Conclusion: Trust in UAM automation and remote pilots/operators will likely affect public acceptance of UAM.

MTurk↗

Prototype Training Materials for Acceptance Criteria of Maintenance ASAP Events Occurring Within Social Context

The aviation maintenance community is at a crossroads with respect to implementing the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). While there is considerable interest, several key issues have emerged that cast doubt on how to assure a successful implementation, including buy-in from all levels of the company and training for key participants. There are two objectives for the present report. The first is to provide an examination of limits (or more properly, examples) of the degree of acceptability of more problematic events for risk-based decisions within the current ASAP guidelines. The second objective is to apply these limits of community standards to a set of further refined ASAP training scenarios.

ASAP (AVIATION SAFETY ACTION PROGRAM)↗

Development of an Accepted Medical Condition List for Exploration Medical Capability Scoping

The Accepted Medical Conditions List (AMCL) is a product designed to provide a traceable, repeatable, evidence-based consensus process for scoping the medical capability needs for future design reference missions (DRMs) and upcoming programs. These include a Mars transit DRM and a shorter duration cis-lunar DRM. The development of a baseline AMCL by the Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element will assist the effort to identify high priority medical capabilities for inclusion in mission and vehicle planning and provide traceable and documented clinical needs to the Systems Engineering teams tasked with requirements development and design work.

Medical Condition List↗