Spatial Displays as a Means to Increase Pilot Situational Awareness,
Abstract
At least three elements influence the performance of an operator who must make a system achieve a desired goal: (1) the dynamics of the system itself, (2) the nature of tile possible inputs, and (3) the means whereby the operator views the information concerning the desired and actual state of the system (e.g., Poulton, 1974; Wickens, 1984; and Wickens, 1987). In conventional airplanes manual control involves the coordination of "inner loop" control. In this task the pilot is responsible for continuous manipulation of the controls to compensate for disturbances. Primary displays (fig. 1) provide the several essential flight parameters which the pilot is required to monitor, interpret, transform, and integrate. It has long been recognized that intense concentration is necessary for a pilot to achieve high tracking performance using only "raw data". The underlying need for such concentration stems from the effort necessary to obtain timely error, error rate, and control input information in each of the three flight axes. Precision instrument approaches often have higher minimums if a suitable flight director or autopilot is not available and in use. Most pilots have come to depend on these aids. Some pilots express doubt about the precision of their own tracking ability any time they are unavailable.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA358149
Entities
People
- Delmar M. Fadden
- John Wiedemann
- Rolf Branne
Organizations
- Boeing