The Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate: design and evaluation of an intelligent user interface for cockpit information management

The US Army's Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate (RPA) program is developing an advanced, intelligent "associate" system for flight demonstration in a future attack/scout helicopter. A significant RPA component is the intelligent user interface known as the Cockpit Information Manager (CIM). This paper describes the high-level architecture of the CIM, with emphasis on its pilot-perceptible behaviors: Crew Intent Estimation, Page Selection, Symbol Selection/Declutter, Intelligent Window Location, Automated Pan and Zoom, and Task Allocation. We then present the subjective results of recent full mission simulation studies using the CIM to illustrate pilots' attitudes toward these behaviors and their perceived effectiveness.

[1]  Jefferson M. Koonce,et al.  Human–automation interaction: Research and practice. , 1997 .

[2]  P. Johnson-Laird.  Mental models , 1989 .

[3]  Kirby Keller,et al.  Domain specific software design for decision aiding , 1992 .

[4]  Robert C. Andes,et al.  Assuring Human-Centeredness in Intelligent Rotorcraft Cockpits: Using Crew Intent Estimation to Coordinate RPA Functions , 1997 .

[5]  Peter Johnson,et al.  Designing user interfaces from analyses of users' tasks , 1997, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[6]  Gavriel Salvendy,et al.  Handbook of human factors. , 1987 .

[7]  T. L. Saaty.  A Scaling Method for Priorities in Hierarchical Structures , 1977 .

[8]  Sheila B. Banks,et al.  Pilot's Associate: a cooperative, knowledge-based system application , 1991, IEEE Expert.

[9]  Pedro A. Szekely,et al.  Adaptive forms: an interaction paradigm for entering structured data , 1998, IUI '98.

[10]  Christine M. Mitchell,et al.  Use of Model-Based Qualitative Icons and Adaptive Windows in Workstations for Supervisory Control Systems , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[11]  Christopher A. Miller,et al.  Bridging the Information Transfer Gap: Measuring Goodness of Information Fit , 1999, J. Vis. Lang. Comput..

[12]  Victor A. Riley,et al.  A General Model of Mixed-Initiative Human-Machine Systems , 1989 .

[13]  Robert Sutton,et al.  Applications of Human Performance Models to System Design , 1989, Springer US.

[14]  Mark T. Maybury,et al.  Intelligent multimedia interfaces , 1994, CHI Conference Companion.

[15]  Christine M. Mitchell,et al.  Multimodal User Input to Supervisory Control Systems: Voice-Augmented Keyboard , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[16]  Patricia M. Jones,et al.  Varieties of Representational Forms: Towards Designing an Information Infrastructure for an Organization , 1998 .

[17]  J. G. Hollands,et al.  Engineering Psychology and Human Performance , 1984 .

[18]  Stephen M. Casner,et al.  Task-analytic approach to the automated design of graphic presentations , 1991, TOGS.