Smart Icing Systems Project

Human Factors Group

 

      Objectives:
 
  • Identification and validation of pilots' information requirements during in-flight icing conditions.
  •  Design of human-centered flight deck interfaces to support pilots in the timely detection, proper diagnosis, and safe and effective handling of different forms/locations of in-flight icing.
  •  Design of IMS interfaces that help pilots track the status and activities of the system and support the coordination of crew and system goals and actions.
  •  Exploration of the need for and possible approaches to system integration. For example, how can pilots be supported in reconciling potential conflicts between TCAS (Traffic Display and Collision Avoidance System) and IMS advisories?
  •  Assistance in the development of envelope protection and control adaptation functions. The pilot must be informed whenever these functions become active and understand their implications for airplane handling and behavior.
      Current Activities:
 
  • Multi-modal Display Research

One of the current lines of investigation for the Human Factors group is the use of tactile cues as part of a multi-modal IMS display design. While the potential usefulness and limitations of tactile cues as sources of information in complex environments have been subjects of previous research, the focus of much of this work has centered around either attention capture or has made only a limited use of information encoding by using the skin’s natural mapping to encode orientation information.

The purpose of the recently conducted pilot study was to expand on this previous work by using tactile cues as a means of not only capturing attention, but also to encode more detailed information such as the location and intensity of icing that the aircraft is encountering

 
      Previous Activities:
 
  • Survey of Pilots' Information Requirements
A survey was distributed to graduates of the University's Institute of Aviation. Pilots were asked to rate the importance of different kinds of information for detecting and handling in-flight icing conditions. The survey also asked pilots about their current equipment and procedures for handling in-flight icing and about their opinion regarding proposed features of the IMS such as envelope protection and control adaptation.
  • Simulator Study On The Effectiveness of Command vs. Status Displays For Handling In-flight Icing Conditions
This study will explore how pilots can be supported most effectively in diagnosing and properly reacting to different in-flight icing conditions. The development of a simulation environment is currently underway which will allow us to provide pilots with both the visual and the tactile feedback associated with different locations of ice accretion. Experienced flight instructors from the Institute of Aviation will be asked to fly various scenarios to evaluate a number of candidate displays.
      Members:  
      Dr. Nadine Sarter  e-mail
      John McGuirl  e-mail

 

          

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         Last updated: 4 January 2001