Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control
It is widely recognized that airspace capacity must increase over the coming years. It is also commonly accepted that meeting this challenge while balancing concerns around safety, efficiency, and workforce issues will drive greater reliance on automation. However, if automation is not properly deve...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Aerospace |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/11/11/919 |
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| author | Gijs de Rooij Adam Balint Tisza Clark Borst |
| author_facet | Gijs de Rooij Adam Balint Tisza Clark Borst |
| author_sort | Gijs de Rooij |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is widely recognized that airspace capacity must increase over the coming years. It is also commonly accepted that meeting this challenge while balancing concerns around safety, efficiency, and workforce issues will drive greater reliance on automation. However, if automation is not properly developed and deployed, it represents something of a double-edged sword, and has been linked to several human–machine system performance issues. In this article, we argue that human–automation function and task allocation may not be the way forward, as it invokes serialized interactions that ultimately push the human into a problematic supervisory role. In contrast, we propose a flight-based allocation strategy in which a human controller and digital colleague each have full control authority over different flights in the airspace, thereby creating a parallel system. In an exploratory human-in-the-loop simulation exercise involving six operational en route controllers, it was found that the proposed system was considered acceptable after the users gained experience with it during simulation trials. However, almost all controllers did not follow the initial flight allocations, suggesting that allocation schemes need to remain flexible and/or be based on criteria capturing interactions between flights. In addition, the limited capability of and feedback from the automation contributed to this result. To advance this concept, future work should focus on substantiating flight-centric complexity in driving flight allocation schemes, increasing automation capabilities, and facilitating common ground between humans and automation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d99f228213b9428ead3d3f9391e1c285 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2226-4310 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerospace |
| spelling | doaj-art-d99f228213b9428ead3d3f9391e1c2852025-08-20T02:08:11ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102024-11-01111191910.3390/aerospace11110919Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic ControlGijs de Rooij0Adam Balint Tisza1Clark Borst2Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, The NetherlandsMaastricht Upper Area Control Centre, EUROCONTROL, Horsterweg 11, 6199 AC Maastricht Airport, The NetherlandsFaculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, The NetherlandsIt is widely recognized that airspace capacity must increase over the coming years. It is also commonly accepted that meeting this challenge while balancing concerns around safety, efficiency, and workforce issues will drive greater reliance on automation. However, if automation is not properly developed and deployed, it represents something of a double-edged sword, and has been linked to several human–machine system performance issues. In this article, we argue that human–automation function and task allocation may not be the way forward, as it invokes serialized interactions that ultimately push the human into a problematic supervisory role. In contrast, we propose a flight-based allocation strategy in which a human controller and digital colleague each have full control authority over different flights in the airspace, thereby creating a parallel system. In an exploratory human-in-the-loop simulation exercise involving six operational en route controllers, it was found that the proposed system was considered acceptable after the users gained experience with it during simulation trials. However, almost all controllers did not follow the initial flight allocations, suggesting that allocation schemes need to remain flexible and/or be based on criteria capturing interactions between flights. In addition, the limited capability of and feedback from the automation contributed to this result. To advance this concept, future work should focus on substantiating flight-centric complexity in driving flight allocation schemes, increasing automation capabilities, and facilitating common ground between humans and automation.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/11/11/919flight allocationhuman–automation teamingair traffic control |
| spellingShingle | Gijs de Rooij Adam Balint Tisza Clark Borst Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control Aerospace flight allocation human–automation teaming air traffic control |
| title | Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control |
| title_full | Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control |
| title_fullStr | Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control |
| title_short | Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control |
| title_sort | flight based control allocation towards human autonomy teaming in air traffic control |
| topic | flight allocation human–automation teaming air traffic control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/11/11/919 |
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