Jonathan Histon

Avoiding interference: how people use spatial separation and partitioning in SDG workspaces

Single Display Groupware (SDG) lets multiple co-located people, each with their own input device, interact simultaneously over a single communal display. While SDG is beneficial, there is risk of interference: when two people are interacting in close proximity, one person can raise an interface component (such as a menu, dialog box, or movable palette) over another persons working area, thus obscuring and hindering the others actions. Consequently, researchers have developed special purpose interaction components to mitigate interference techniques. Yet is interference common in practice? If not, then SDG versions of conventional interface components could prove more suitable. We hypothesize that collaborators spatially separate their activities to the extent that they partition their workspace into distinct areas when working on particular tasks, thus reducing the potential for interference. We tested this hypothesis by observing co-located people performing a set of collaborative drawing exercises in an SDG workspace, where we paid particular attention to the locations of their simultaneous interactions. We saw that spatial separation and partitioning occurred consistently and naturally across all participants, rarely requiring any verbal negotiation. Particular divisions of the space varied, influenced by seating position and task semantics. These results suggest that people naturally avoid interfering with one another by spatially separating their actions. This has design implications for SDG interaction techniques, especially in how conventional widgets can be adapted to an SDG setting.

A User-Centered Evaluation of three Intravenous Infusion Pumps

Considerable research has focused on whether medical equipment can be made safer/more effective using user-centered design principles. Medication errors may result from improper operation, mechanical failure, and tampering. The present study evaluated the effectiveness and advantages of three intravenous infusion pumps. Five evaluators used heuristic evaluation to identify, categorize, and prioritize usability problems. Positive and negative features were classified according to usability and design principles. The most common negative feature was difficulty setting up an infusion. The most common positive feature was visual feedback regarding pump status. The methodology was effective at identifying a number of problems. Ongoing research involves testing domain-experts to validate the severity of the usability problems identified and discover other safety-relevant errors.

Feature extraction and radar track classification for detecting UAVs in civillian airspace

With the rapidly growing use of commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), integrating civilian UAVs into the controlled airspace seems inevitable. We investigate the problem of associating correct labels to different radar tracks, specifically to distinguish UAV tracks among others (such as aircraft and birds). To this end, three plausible civilian applications involving UAVs are proposed and studied. Then, for each application, a number of UAV tracks are simulated and merged into an existing dataset of real aircraft and bird tracks. We show that, with a chosen set of track features, the simulated UAV tracks are correctly labeled with 99% accuracy.

A new air traffic complexity metric based on dynamical system modelization

This paper presents new concepts to address the air traffic complexity modeling problem. Two new geometrical metrics have been introduced and have been found very useful to capture typical features of traffic complexity. The covariance metric is very adapted to identify disorder in a set of speed vectors and can be applied for en route airspace (en route airspace is the airspace between airports). Similarly, the Koenig metric identifies easily the curl movement organizations and can be applied to areas around airports where air traffic control procedures impose turns on aircraft trajectories.

Human / automation interaction accidents: Implications for UAS operations

This paper examines the role of automation in transport category aircraft landing accidents in order to identify implications for automation design for Uninhabited Aerial Systems (UAS). Sixteen accidents involving loss of control of automation due to decision failures of the operator in the approach and landing phase of flight were identified from two commercial airline safety databases. The reports for these accidents were reviewed using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) in order to identify a list of common active and latent factors associated with automation-induced landing accidents. These common factors were then summarized and analyzed as to their root causes and the underlying role of the automation. In many instances, common human deficiencies directly contributed to the loss of control of the automation and hence the aircraft. These deficiencies are compared with previous summaries of UAS accident reports. The identified factors are used to identify implications for automated UAS landing operations.

Survey of Operators’ Unmanned Aircraft Systems Experience

The routine integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into controlled airspace is a pressing challenge around the world. In order to identify what information surveillance systems need to detect and display about the UAS, air traffic controllers and pilots were surveyed. Participants were asked a wide range of questions regarding their experience with UAS and information requirements under different conditions. This paper focuses on understanding operators’ previous experiences with UAS. Close to 60% of controllers and 42% of pilots reported having had some form of experience with UAS. Approximately the same proportion of controllers reported UAS operating in airspace designated for UAS operations as those reporting operations in low and high density regions of airspace and near standard flows in their airspace.

An Air Traffic Control Simulation Fidelity Definition and Categorization System

Air traffic control is an industry that relies heavily on simulation, yet there is little domain-specific research to inform its use for training. Based on the literature and interviews with personnel at an air navigation service provider, this paper proposes a definition of air traffic control simulation fidelity as well as a simulation categorization system. The definition serves as an objective reference that captures all the components of the work environment that can affect the perceived fidelity of a simulation. The categorization system presents a consistent and structured tool for being able to easily compare and differentiate simulation environments. Further validation work is also discussed.

Airspace structure, future ATC systems, and controller complexity reduction

Airspace structure is a key factor influencing controller cognitive complexity as it forms a basis for abstractions simplifying controller mental models of air traffic situations. In evaluating the feasibility of new Concepts of Operations (Con-Ops), it is important to consider the effects of changes to the structure of the system and its related impacts on controller cognitive complexity. Examples of key cognitive complexity considerations for future ATC systems are identified by examining three opportunities to modify airspace structure. A part task experiment was used to further investigate the impact of one of those opportunities on controller cognitive complexity, the introduction of time-based control. The hypothesis of structures impact on controller complexity was supported through an innovative aircraft complexity assessment technique Benefits of time-based control were shown both in terms of controller performance and subjective complexity rating results.

Expert Panels as a Means of Engaging Students in the Applications of Human Factors

Large class sizes make it difficult to provide meaningful and engaging opportunities to connect students to real world applications of human factors research. In an effort to address this, students in a senior year human factors class participated in a weekly expert panel, either as a panelist or as an audience member. The expert panel exercise mimics news conferences, panels and other media settings in a way that engages students and provides time-efficient opportunities to demonstrate how human factors principles are reflected in real world incidents and accidents. Initial experience with the expert panel has been promising and appears to be a valuable means of promoting a deeper understanding of applications of human factors knowledge.

Survey of Operators’ Information Requirements on Individually Operated Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into controlled airspace will depend on identifying what information surveillance systems need to detect and display about the UAS to air traffic controllers and pilots. Pilots and controllers have been surveyed regarding their perceptions of their information requirements about UAS and the availability of that information in current operations. It was found that the most commonly identified information requirement for both pilots and controllers was the altitude of a UAS followed by the planned maneuvers of the UAS. For controllers, having previous UAS experience was most associated with an increased requirement for information on a UAS model/type and ground speed, as well as the weight and mission of the UAS. For pilots experience with UAS increased the most the requirement for knowledge of the operator of a UAS. Interestingly, for pilots, the requirement for every other information element stayed constant, or decreased when comparing perceptions of those with and without experience.