The Consideration of Pilot Factors in Development of Future Collision Avoidance Systems 851807

Since 1955 the aviation community has been investigating the feasibility of an airborne collision avoidance system. These studies have included analytical and engineering design efforts as well as flight simulation tests and actual flight tests. The majority of the effort expended during these investigations has been devoted to the engineering aspects of the systems. Of equal importance in meeting the overall objective of collision avoidance is the transmission of system information to the crew in a form that can be used effectively in the operational environment. The Boeing Commercial Airplane Company fulfilled a contract for the FAA, using simulation to help determine flight deck display requirements and operational procedures for the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS II) in commercial transport aircraft.

Using the experience gained from these studies, this paper describes the type of efforts required to develop pilot factor characteristics for future collision avoidance systems it addresses man-machine interface requirements to ensure that the system is compatible with the overall aircraft system. It presents some of the functional requirements that the display and control components of the system must meet to accomplish separation assurance. Some of the subjects that are discussed include: a) the impact of the collision avoidance system utilization philosophy on the display requirements; b) the importance of designing the collision avoidance display system so that it can be integrated into the flight deck environment; c) techniques for incorporating realistic human performance estimates into the system performance assumptions; d) the effect on system performance of using natural response patterns; e) techniques that can be used to generate pilot response time commensurate with the situational requirements; f) the role of simulation in the design process; and g) consideration for certification during the development of a collision avoidance system.