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Cockpit Display of Traffic Information

A group of researchers in the NASA Ames Human Factors Research and Technology Division, the Ames Flight Deck Display Research Group, is developing an integrated interface that could support flight crew activities in a future free flight environment. While there is no standard definition of a 'free flight environment,' free flight is generally conceived to be an airspace environment in which the flight crew plays an active role in managing its flight path through the airspace relative to traffic, weather, special use airspace and ATC constraints. In other words, the free flight environment would reinstate some of the freedoms and responsibilities that pilots lost as skies became crowded and regulated. Current flight decks provide only limited support for decision making in a free flight environment and the responsibility for traffic management is centralized on the ground. In current day cockpits, some information necessary for free flight decision making is simply not available to the flight crew (e.g., a complete display of surrounding traffic). Other information necessary for free flight decision making is presented in less than optimal, inconsistent formats or is not presented in an integrated form. By developing an integrated display, the Ames Flight Deck Display Research Group aims to alleviate some of these problems.

The research group already has developed a mature Cockpit Situation Display (CSD) that presents information about surrounding aircraft to the flight crew. This information includes the relative positions, speeds, and trajectories of these aircraft, as well as 'conflict'alerts when another aircraft is expected to approach too closely. A crew armed with the right tools may be able to manage or oversee how conflict resolutions (trajectory changes) are coordinated with other aircraft and with air traffic controllers. Therefore, the CSD provides (1) intent information, (2) alert status information, (3) the ability to create resolutions, (4) the ability to share this information with involved parties, and (5) the means to implement these resolutions.

As can be seen in the illustration, the research group is currently fine tuning the development of two new CSD features. First, the CSD now provides a volumetric representation of the surrounding three-dimensional traffic environment. Such an interface should provide flight crews with higher levels of traffic awareness. A second new feature of the CSD integrates three-dimensional weather information into the interface. Because the CSD provides information about the expected future position of both ownship and weather, the integration of traffic and weather information should allow the flight crew to make efficient and safe decisions about their flight path.

The Ames Flight Deck Display Research Group will continue its effort to improve the capabilities of the CSD to support decision making in a free flight environment. The group is continually performing human factors research to assess the utility of the CSD and to determine ways in which the interface can be improved. The group plans to eventually include three-dimensional terrain information on the display. A display that integrates traffic, weather, and terrain information ultimately should provide excellent cockpit situational awareness and decision support for the flight crew in a free flight environment.