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Beware of agents when flying aircraft: Basic principles behind a generic methodology for the evaluation and certification of advanced aviation systemsThere is currently a growing interest in the aeronautical community to assess the effects of the increasing levels of automation on pilots' performance and overall safety. The first effect of automation is the change in the nature of the pilot's role on the flight deck. Pilots have become supervisors who monitor aircraft systems in usual situations and intervene only when unanticipated events occur. Instead of 'hand flying' the airplane, pilots contribute to the control of aircraft by acting as mediators, instructions given to the automation. By eliminating the need for manually controlling normal situations, such a role division has reduced the opportunities for the pilot to acquire experience and skills necessary to safely cope with abnormal events. Difficulties in assessing the state and behavior of automation arise mainly from four factors: (1) the complexity of current systems and consequence mode-related problems; (2) the intrinsic autonomy of automation which is able to fire mode transitions without explicit commands from the pilots; (3) the bad quality of feed-back from the control systems displays and interfaces to the pilots; and (4) the fact that the automation currently has no explicit representation of the current pilots' intentions and strategy. Assuming certification has among its major goals to guarantee the passengers' and pilots' safety and the airplane integrity under normal and abnormal operational conditions, the authors suggest it would be particularly fruitful to come up with a conceptual reference system providing the certification authorities both with a theoretical framework and a list of principles usable for assessing the quality of the equipment and designs under examination. This is precisely the scope of this paper. However, the authors recognize that the conceptual presented is still under development and would thus be best considered as a source of reflection for the design, evaluation and certification processes of advanced aviation technologies.
Document ID
19950028366
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Javaux, Denis (Liege Univ.)
Masson, Michel (Liege Univ.)
Dekeyser, Veronique (Liege Univ.)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Daytona Beach,FL, Human Factors Certification of Advanced Aviation Technologies
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Accession Number
95N34787
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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