The Cognitive Cockpit Assistant Systems CASSY/CAMA 1999-01-5537

This paper presents a concept which is needed to warrant a highest possible degree of situation awareness of the flight crew as well as a workload level which is as close as possible to the satisfactory one. This concept offers the solution to counteract susceptibiliy to pilot errors, typical for lack of attention or knowledge limitations in certain flight situations. This concept is founded on cognitive system engineering in order to really accomplish allocation of automation as a complement to the human pilot crew when needed in favor of flight safety and mission effectiveness. This technology enables a cockpit design in order to systematically comply with the requirements of ’ Human-Centered Automation (HCA)’ . It even allows to quantify at which degree these requirements are met. The underlying approach behind the concept has become real by the development of the cockpit assistant system prototype family CASSY/CAMA as described in this paper. CASSY/CAMA was developed on the basis of the potentials of cognitive engineering. CASSY/CAMA has been extensively tested in a flight simulator. CASSY has been successfully field tested with the ATTAS (Advanced Technologies Test Aircraft System) of the DLR. The same kind of field test will be conducted with CAMA early next year. Some of the simulator test results with CAMA will be presented in this paper.

This demonstrates that the time has come where cockpit systems have no longer to be designed on a vague basis of specifications. The advances in technology provide the necessary basis to systematically reflect requirements for human-centered automation into clear-cut specifications and system design.