We have evaluated the performance of a range of retroreflective tapes for their potential to impr... more We have evaluated the performance of a range of retroreflective tapes for their potential to improve detection of casualties in maritime search and rescue (SAR). The potential for cockpit distraction in the visible region was also evaluated. Different material samples were placed at a representative distance from an operational UK SAR aircraft under different illumination conditions. Footage was recorded from pilot night-vision goggles (NVGs) and from the different cameras on board operating in the visible, near IR and mid IR regions. Six materials were tested. Two silver coloured, SOLAS approved materials were tested with broadband visible retroreflection, one with microsphere construction, the other with microprismatic construction. Three microprismatic materials were tested that included overlaid filters to colour them red, orange and yellow. Finally, a reflective microprismatic tape was tested that incorporated a visible-light-blocking filter that rendered it black in the visibl...
Physiological measures have increased in popularity due to the growing availability of equipment ... more Physiological measures have increased in popularity due to the growing availability of equipment allowing their measurement in real-time. Eye blinks are an easy measure to collect using video capture. Our findings indicate that blink counts can differentiate between taskloads and task types during a computer-based task, and reflect subjective workload ratings. Blink counts were significantly lower during the tasks involving high visual load when compared to less visually demanding tasks, and lower numbers of blinks were observed under higher taskloads across tasks with a higher visual load. Significant correlations were observed between blink counts and all dimensions of the NASA-TLX for a tracking task, and the mental demand dimension for the combined system monitoring and resource management. No significant correlations were observed for the less visually demanding communications task.
An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when... more An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when navigating a route. Participants used a mobile device to navigate a route in a building. Different types of representation were used: a paper floor plan and three representations ...
An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when... more An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when navigating a route inside a building. Participants used a personal digital assistant (PDA) which presented three different types of spatial information. The spatial information ...
This narrative suggests that particular categories of event (e.g. loss of reliable indicated airs... more This narrative suggests that particular categories of event (e.g. loss of reliable indicated airspeed data) demand particular responses, if safety is to be maintained. Pilots must determine whether a new encounter with a cluster of information features belongs to a known category, before organising and executing a response. Evidence from aircraft incident and accident reports (e.g. BEA, 2012; NTSB, 2012) indicate that the perceptual environment is not always structured such that categories are obvious to the crew. Situation prototypes (Cantor, Mischel, & Schwartz, 1982) could influence the encoding and interpretation of categorical information features. Humans reduce sensory experiences into equivalent groups, or categories (Pothos & Wills, 2011). The prototype view proposes that category judgements are influenced by the clearest and best cases of category membership (Rosch, 1978). This view accommodates the graded structure principle that some category members are better, more typi...
Some safety events do not stabilise in a coherent state, presenting with transient or intermitten... more Some safety events do not stabilise in a coherent state, presenting with transient or intermittent features. Such dynamism may pose problems for human performance, especially if combined with non-typical stimuli that are rarely encountered in everyday work. This may explain undesirable pilot behaviour and could be an important cognitive factor in recent aircraft accidents. Sixty-five airline pilots tested a real-world typicality gradient, composed of two cockpit events, a typical event, and a non-typical event, across two different forms of dynamism, a stable, single system transition, and an unstable, intermittent system transition. We found that non-typical event stimuli elicited a greater number of response errors and incurred an increased response latency when compared to typical event stimuli, replicating the typicality effect. These performance deteriorations were amplified when a form of unstable system dynamism was introduced. Typical stimuli were unaffected by dynamism. Thi...
Adaptive automation appears to be one of the next most challenging milestones in the field of avi... more Adaptive automation appears to be one of the next most challenging milestones in the field of aviation and air traffic management. This approach is aimed to be human centered (Billings, 1996) and has to be user-friendly in order to increase safety (Flightpath 2050). The detection of human operators’ performance inevitably has to be the first step in this activity (Maiwald & Schulte, 2011). Here the edges of acceptable behaviour have to be identified well in time, which means that points where human performance deteriorates have to be found. This has led to the notion of a Human Performance Envelope (Graziani et al., 2016). Within this context a reliable on-line recording and analysis of operational data is needed. In a second step, these data will then set the trigger and recommend when a redistributions of tasks has to take place and a higher level of automation has to take over. While new identification means like behavioral markers (Edwards, 2013, 2014) are under investigation, p...
Abstract In this article we evaluate a modified immersion suit for use by helicopter aircrew. Hel... more Abstract In this article we evaluate a modified immersion suit for use by helicopter aircrew. Helicopter aircrew operating over water are subject to international regulations which govern the personal protective equipment and clothing worn. Our modification increases the area of retroreflective material in a unique configuration. Highly reflective materials can cause unwanted reflections in the cockpit and data as to their efficacy in improving conspicuity in rescue at sea has not previously been captured. In this study we address this problem. Two methods were developed to test the acceptability and efficacy of a modified immersion suit to improve conspicuity in rescue operations at sea. Firstly, land-based trials employing subject matter experts were conducted to assess the tolerability of reflections in the cockpit from the modifications made to the immersion suit. Secondly, trials at sea using UK search and rescue teams captured data to assess the efficacy of the modification. Our results provide preliminary evidence for the acceptability of the modified immersion suit design and that the modification improves conspicuity in night time conditions, measured using the distance at which a target is detected. Our results support re-examination of the standard associated with passive lifesaving systems in helicopter aircrew immersion suit design to include an increase in the area of retroreflective material in the proposed novel configuration. Finally, our results support the use of coloured retroreflective tape to provide increased visual contrast, especially where this colour is coordinated with the main suit fabric.
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
ObjectiveWe extend the theory of conceptual categories to flight safety events, to understand var... more ObjectiveWe extend the theory of conceptual categories to flight safety events, to understand variations in pilot event knowledge.BackgroundExperienced, highly trained pilots sometimes fail to recognize events, resulting in procedures not being followed, damaging safety. Recognition is supported by typical, representative members of a concept. Variations in typicality (“gradients”) could explain variations in pilot knowledge, and hence recognition. The role of simulations and everyday flight operations in the acquisition of useful, flexible concepts is poorly understood. We illustrate uses of the theory in understanding the industry-wide problem of nontypical events.MethodOne hundred and eighteen airline pilots responded to scenario descriptions, rating them for typicality and indicating the source of their knowledge about each scenario.ResultsSignificant variations in typicality in flight safety event concepts were found, along with key gradients that may influence pilot behavior. ...
In this article, we compare and evaluate two methods of procedure design using an aircraft go-aro... more In this article, we compare and evaluate two methods of procedure design using an aircraft go-around (GA) as a test scenario. We contrast the manufacturer specified, crew-centric procedure with a redesigned process-centred perspective. We test the claim that the process-centred design can take into account situational factors more effectively and generate less workload. We report a heuristic assessment of the new procedure against design guidelines and an evaluation in a full-flight simulator at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) using qualified airline pilots to assess workload and performance. Both the manufacturer specified and new procedure were employed in three GA scenarios representative of increasing operational complexity. Results demonstrate an advantage for the new procedure design in the most complex scenario. The new, process-based procedure can reduce reported crew workload and improve response flexibility in more complex scenarios, improving rated performance. This study suggests that the process-based account in procedure design has advantages when compared to the flight crew-centric approach. These advantages include enhanced flexibility, robustness and improved crew performance during GA.
In this article we explore the types of science produced and disseminated in human factors resear... more In this article we explore the types of science produced and disseminated in human factors research in the cognitive domain. We reflect on the methods and techniques used in the European, Horizon 2020 ‘Future Sky Safety’ Project: Human Performance Envelope (P6). This project has adopted multiple research paradigms, successfully engaging academia and research organizations throughout its four-year duration. We discuss the challenges of conducting practically focused work that can also be brought to publication in peer-reviewed journals. Finally, we frame our research contributions within this project using a recent model of practitioner engagement.
In the Horizon 2020 funded Future Sky Safety programme, the Human Performance Envelope project pu... more In the Horizon 2020 funded Future Sky Safety programme, the Human Performance Envelope project pushed airline pilots to the edges of their performance in real-time cockpit simulations, by increasing stress and workload, and decreasing situation awareness. The aim was to find out how such factors interact, and to detect the edges of human performance where some form of automation support should be employed to ensure safe continued flight. A battery of measures was used, from behavioural to physiological (e.g. heart rate, eye tracking and pupil dilation), to monitoring pilot performance in real time. Several measures – e.g. heart rate, heart rate variability, eye tracking, cognitive walkthrough, and Human Machine Interface (HMI) usability analysis – proved to be useful and relatively robust in detecting performance degradation, and determining where changes in information presentation are required to better support pilot performance in challenging situations. These results led to prop...
We have evaluated the performance of a range of retroreflective tapes for their potential to impr... more We have evaluated the performance of a range of retroreflective tapes for their potential to improve detection of casualties in maritime search and rescue (SAR). The potential for cockpit distraction in the visible region was also evaluated. Different material samples were placed at a representative distance from an operational UK SAR aircraft under different illumination conditions. Footage was recorded from pilot night-vision goggles (NVGs) and from the different cameras on board operating in the visible, near IR and mid IR regions. Six materials were tested. Two silver coloured, SOLAS approved materials were tested with broadband visible retroreflection, one with microsphere construction, the other with microprismatic construction. Three microprismatic materials were tested that included overlaid filters to colour them red, orange and yellow. Finally, a reflective microprismatic tape was tested that incorporated a visible-light-blocking filter that rendered it black in the visibl...
Physiological measures have increased in popularity due to the growing availability of equipment ... more Physiological measures have increased in popularity due to the growing availability of equipment allowing their measurement in real-time. Eye blinks are an easy measure to collect using video capture. Our findings indicate that blink counts can differentiate between taskloads and task types during a computer-based task, and reflect subjective workload ratings. Blink counts were significantly lower during the tasks involving high visual load when compared to less visually demanding tasks, and lower numbers of blinks were observed under higher taskloads across tasks with a higher visual load. Significant correlations were observed between blink counts and all dimensions of the NASA-TLX for a tracking task, and the mental demand dimension for the combined system monitoring and resource management. No significant correlations were observed for the less visually demanding communications task.
An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when... more An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when navigating a route. Participants used a mobile device to navigate a route in a building. Different types of representation were used: a paper floor plan and three representations ...
An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when... more An experiment was conducted to study differences in workload and performance of participants when navigating a route inside a building. Participants used a personal digital assistant (PDA) which presented three different types of spatial information. The spatial information ...
This narrative suggests that particular categories of event (e.g. loss of reliable indicated airs... more This narrative suggests that particular categories of event (e.g. loss of reliable indicated airspeed data) demand particular responses, if safety is to be maintained. Pilots must determine whether a new encounter with a cluster of information features belongs to a known category, before organising and executing a response. Evidence from aircraft incident and accident reports (e.g. BEA, 2012; NTSB, 2012) indicate that the perceptual environment is not always structured such that categories are obvious to the crew. Situation prototypes (Cantor, Mischel, & Schwartz, 1982) could influence the encoding and interpretation of categorical information features. Humans reduce sensory experiences into equivalent groups, or categories (Pothos & Wills, 2011). The prototype view proposes that category judgements are influenced by the clearest and best cases of category membership (Rosch, 1978). This view accommodates the graded structure principle that some category members are better, more typi...
Some safety events do not stabilise in a coherent state, presenting with transient or intermitten... more Some safety events do not stabilise in a coherent state, presenting with transient or intermittent features. Such dynamism may pose problems for human performance, especially if combined with non-typical stimuli that are rarely encountered in everyday work. This may explain undesirable pilot behaviour and could be an important cognitive factor in recent aircraft accidents. Sixty-five airline pilots tested a real-world typicality gradient, composed of two cockpit events, a typical event, and a non-typical event, across two different forms of dynamism, a stable, single system transition, and an unstable, intermittent system transition. We found that non-typical event stimuli elicited a greater number of response errors and incurred an increased response latency when compared to typical event stimuli, replicating the typicality effect. These performance deteriorations were amplified when a form of unstable system dynamism was introduced. Typical stimuli were unaffected by dynamism. Thi...
Adaptive automation appears to be one of the next most challenging milestones in the field of avi... more Adaptive automation appears to be one of the next most challenging milestones in the field of aviation and air traffic management. This approach is aimed to be human centered (Billings, 1996) and has to be user-friendly in order to increase safety (Flightpath 2050). The detection of human operators’ performance inevitably has to be the first step in this activity (Maiwald & Schulte, 2011). Here the edges of acceptable behaviour have to be identified well in time, which means that points where human performance deteriorates have to be found. This has led to the notion of a Human Performance Envelope (Graziani et al., 2016). Within this context a reliable on-line recording and analysis of operational data is needed. In a second step, these data will then set the trigger and recommend when a redistributions of tasks has to take place and a higher level of automation has to take over. While new identification means like behavioral markers (Edwards, 2013, 2014) are under investigation, p...
Abstract In this article we evaluate a modified immersion suit for use by helicopter aircrew. Hel... more Abstract In this article we evaluate a modified immersion suit for use by helicopter aircrew. Helicopter aircrew operating over water are subject to international regulations which govern the personal protective equipment and clothing worn. Our modification increases the area of retroreflective material in a unique configuration. Highly reflective materials can cause unwanted reflections in the cockpit and data as to their efficacy in improving conspicuity in rescue at sea has not previously been captured. In this study we address this problem. Two methods were developed to test the acceptability and efficacy of a modified immersion suit to improve conspicuity in rescue operations at sea. Firstly, land-based trials employing subject matter experts were conducted to assess the tolerability of reflections in the cockpit from the modifications made to the immersion suit. Secondly, trials at sea using UK search and rescue teams captured data to assess the efficacy of the modification. Our results provide preliminary evidence for the acceptability of the modified immersion suit design and that the modification improves conspicuity in night time conditions, measured using the distance at which a target is detected. Our results support re-examination of the standard associated with passive lifesaving systems in helicopter aircrew immersion suit design to include an increase in the area of retroreflective material in the proposed novel configuration. Finally, our results support the use of coloured retroreflective tape to provide increased visual contrast, especially where this colour is coordinated with the main suit fabric.
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
ObjectiveWe extend the theory of conceptual categories to flight safety events, to understand var... more ObjectiveWe extend the theory of conceptual categories to flight safety events, to understand variations in pilot event knowledge.BackgroundExperienced, highly trained pilots sometimes fail to recognize events, resulting in procedures not being followed, damaging safety. Recognition is supported by typical, representative members of a concept. Variations in typicality (“gradients”) could explain variations in pilot knowledge, and hence recognition. The role of simulations and everyday flight operations in the acquisition of useful, flexible concepts is poorly understood. We illustrate uses of the theory in understanding the industry-wide problem of nontypical events.MethodOne hundred and eighteen airline pilots responded to scenario descriptions, rating them for typicality and indicating the source of their knowledge about each scenario.ResultsSignificant variations in typicality in flight safety event concepts were found, along with key gradients that may influence pilot behavior. ...
In this article, we compare and evaluate two methods of procedure design using an aircraft go-aro... more In this article, we compare and evaluate two methods of procedure design using an aircraft go-around (GA) as a test scenario. We contrast the manufacturer specified, crew-centric procedure with a redesigned process-centred perspective. We test the claim that the process-centred design can take into account situational factors more effectively and generate less workload. We report a heuristic assessment of the new procedure against design guidelines and an evaluation in a full-flight simulator at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) using qualified airline pilots to assess workload and performance. Both the manufacturer specified and new procedure were employed in three GA scenarios representative of increasing operational complexity. Results demonstrate an advantage for the new procedure design in the most complex scenario. The new, process-based procedure can reduce reported crew workload and improve response flexibility in more complex scenarios, improving rated performance. This study suggests that the process-based account in procedure design has advantages when compared to the flight crew-centric approach. These advantages include enhanced flexibility, robustness and improved crew performance during GA.
In this article we explore the types of science produced and disseminated in human factors resear... more In this article we explore the types of science produced and disseminated in human factors research in the cognitive domain. We reflect on the methods and techniques used in the European, Horizon 2020 ‘Future Sky Safety’ Project: Human Performance Envelope (P6). This project has adopted multiple research paradigms, successfully engaging academia and research organizations throughout its four-year duration. We discuss the challenges of conducting practically focused work that can also be brought to publication in peer-reviewed journals. Finally, we frame our research contributions within this project using a recent model of practitioner engagement.
In the Horizon 2020 funded Future Sky Safety programme, the Human Performance Envelope project pu... more In the Horizon 2020 funded Future Sky Safety programme, the Human Performance Envelope project pushed airline pilots to the edges of their performance in real-time cockpit simulations, by increasing stress and workload, and decreasing situation awareness. The aim was to find out how such factors interact, and to detect the edges of human performance where some form of automation support should be employed to ensure safe continued flight. A battery of measures was used, from behavioural to physiological (e.g. heart rate, eye tracking and pupil dilation), to monitoring pilot performance in real time. Several measures – e.g. heart rate, heart rate variability, eye tracking, cognitive walkthrough, and Human Machine Interface (HMI) usability analysis – proved to be useful and relatively robust in detecting performance degradation, and determining where changes in information presentation are required to better support pilot performance in challenging situations. These results led to prop...
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