Man–machine Integration Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) v5: Augmentations, Motivations, and Directions for Aeronautics Applications

As automation and advanced technologies are introduced into transport systems ranging from the Next Generation Air Transportation System termed NextGen, to the advanced surface vehicle Intelligent Transportations Systems, to future systems designed for space exploration, there is an increased need to validly predict how the future systems will be vulnerable to error given the demands imposed by assisted technologies. One formalized method to study the impact of assisted technologies on the human operator in a safe and non-obtrusive manner is through the use of human performance models (HPMs). HPMs play an integral role when complex human–system designs are proposed, developed, and tested. One HPM tool termed the Man–machine Integration Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) is a NASA Ames Research Center HPM software tool that has been applied to predict human–system performance in various domains since 1986. MIDAS is a dynamic, integrated HPM environment that facilitates the design, visualization, and computational evaluation of complex man–machine system concepts in simulated operational environments. A range of aviation specific applications including an approach used to model human error for NASA’s Aviation Safety Program, and “what-if” analyses to evaluate flight deck technologies for NextGen operations will be discussed. This chapter will culminate by raising two challenges for the field of predictive HPMs for complex human–system designs that evaluate assisted technologies: that of (1) model transparency and (2) model validation.