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Prediction of Traffic Complexity and Controller Workload in Mixed Equipage NextGen EnvironmentsController workload is a key factor in limiting en route air traffic capacity. Past efforts to quantify and predict workload have resulted in identifying objective metrics that correlate well with subjective workload ratings during current air traffic control operations. Although these metrics provide a reasonable statistical fit to existing data, they do not provide a good mechanism for estimating controller workload for future air traffic concepts and environments that make different assumptions about automation, enabling technologies, and controller tasks. One such future environment is characterized by en route airspace with a mixture of aircraft equipped with and without Data Communications (Data Comm). In this environment, aircraft with Data Comm will impact controller workload less than aircraft requiring voice communication, altering the close correlation between aircraft count and controller workload that exists in current air traffic operations. This paper outlines a new trajectory-based complexity (TBX) calculation that was presented to controllers during a human-in-the-loop simulation. The results showed that TBX accurately estimated the workload in a mixed Data Comm equipage environment and the resulting complexity values were understood and readily interpreted by the controllers. The complexity was represented as a "modified aircraft account" that weighted different complexity factors and summed them in such a way that the controllers could effectively treat them as aircraft count. The factors were also relatively easy to tune without an extensive data set. The results showed that the TBX approach is well suited for presenting traffic complexity in future air traffic environments.
Document ID
20120016433
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Lee, Paul U.
(San Jose State Univ. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Prevot, Thomas
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 26, 2013
Publication Date
October 22, 2012
Subject Category
Air Transportation And Safety
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN5578
Meeting Information
Meeting: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Location: Boston, MA
Country: United States
Start Date: October 22, 2012
End Date: October 26, 2012
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 411931.02.31.01.08
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AB08A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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