A Distributed Simulation Facility to Support Human Factors Research in Advanced Air Transportation Technology

A distributed real-time simulation of the civil air traffic environment developed to support human factors research i_1advanced air transportation technology is presented. The distributed environment is based on a OltStOm sinltdation architecture designed for simplici O' attd flexibility in human experiments. Standard Internet protocols are used to create the distributed environment, linking an advanced cockpit simulator, an Air Traffic Control simulator, attd a pseudo-aircraft control and simulation management station. The pseudo-aircraft control station also functions as a scenario design tool for coordinating human factors experiments. This station incorporates a pseudo-pilot ilttetface designed to reduce workload for human operators piloting multiple aircraft simultaneously in real time. The application of this distributed simulation facility to support a study of the effect of shared infotvnation (via air-ground datalink) on pilot/controller shared situation awareness and re-route negotiation is also presented.