Trajectory Negotiation via Data Link : Evaluation of Human-inthe-loop Simulation

A simulation evaluation of Distributed Air Ground-Traffic Management (DAG-TM) concepts for distributing flight information and decision-making authority among pilots and controllers was completed at NASA Ames. A procedure for en route trajectory negotiation was tested, with air-ground communication method (voice vs. data link) and level of automation technology varied in four experimental conditions: Baseline, Uplink, Uplink/Downlink, and Uplink/Downlink with conflict detection and resolution (CD&R). Data link was used for transfer of communication (TOC) in all conditions. The results suggest that pilot-initiated requests and simple controller response to the requests was as an efficient method of trajectory negotiation. However, the pilot and controller interfaces could provide better cues for the requests and the traffic situation. The data linked route requests were most likely to be accepted by the controllers when the routes were conflict-probed by the flight deck CD&R, showing potential benefits of conflict-probed paths. In addition, controllers highly endorsed the transfer of communication through data link as a workload saving mechanism.