Acceptance of decisionaiding automation in ATM
PhD Candidate: Carl Westin
Department: Control and Operations
Section: Control and Simulation
Supervisor: C. Borst
Promoter: M. Mulder
Start date: 1-8-2013
Funding: CHPR
Cooperations: CHPR
Type: Scientific
Background
Research Activities Planned
Of pivotal importance is that automation developed is
adopted and used by the end-user it intends to benefit and
support. Future Air Traffic Management (ATM) will have to
rely on more, and increasingly sophisticated, automation to
accommodate predicted air traffic. Notably, automation is
destined to grow in authority and assume more decisionmaking tasks. Despite what we know about about the
drivers of acceptance, and thorough automation
development processes where these are considered and
evaluated, acceptance of automation, or the lack thereof,
remain a serious issue in ATM. Further, research indicates
that acceptance decreases when automation authority
increases. Whereas there has been a great deal of
empirical and theoretical work into ATM automation in
relation to reliability and traffic complexity, much less has
been done in the area of similarities and differences
between human-machine interaction and human-human
interaction. Paradoxically, this could in the future become
the most critical issue of all, as mismatches between
human and machine could threaten acceptance of
advanced automation.
This PhD project relies on four major research activities
scheduled to be completed by late 2015.
1. State-of-the-art review exploring the concept of
strategic conformance in relation to automation
acceptance in ATM
2. Further analysis of controller strategies and results of
strategic conformance on automation acceptance
obtained in MUFASA experiments.
3. Transparency study: human-in-the-loop simulations
with active air traffic controllers exploring how
transparency of automation rationale, independently
and in combination with strategic conformance, affects
automation acceptance.
4. Automation bias study: human-in-the-loop simulations
exploring whether there is an inherent bias against
automated advice.
algorithms…
…optimising
heuristics…
…satisficing
The Automation Acceptance Model (AAM) as
proposed by Ghazizadeh et al., 2011
Input from other Research Projects
This PhD project builds on the recently completed
Multidimensional Framework for Advanced SESAR
Automation (MUFASA) project conducted as part of the
SESAR WP-E Innovative research programme. The MUFASA
project was carried out between 2011 and 2013 and
explored ways of increasing automation acceptance in
ATM.
MUFASA
Aerospace Engineering
Multidimensional Framework for Advanced SESAR Automation
Strategic Conformance
Human-machine mismatches in problem solving
Project Aim
The main research question can be formulated as follows:
“Will air traffic controllers accept the advice of automation
that is designed to replace aspects of their decision-making
in the context of conflict detection and resolution?”
As one of its greater contributions, MUFASA showed that
the degree of (mis)match between human and computer
strategies (i.e. strategic conformance) is an important
factor affecting the acceptance of resolution advisories
made by a decision support system in an ATC task. Based
on the Solution Space Diagram (SSD) developed by Delft
University of Technology, MUFASA created an ATC
simulator that facilitated a unique experimental design
where participants own solutions to loss of separation
conflicts between aircraft could be replayed as automated
advisories, and thereby simulate highly strategic conformal
automation (solutions that to a high degree matches
participants own solutions).
Four areas believed to constitute key drivers of acceptance
in future ATM automation are investigated in order to
answer this question:
• Workload — in terms of air traffic complexity: the static
and dynamic characteristics of the airspace and traffic,
• Level of automation — i.e., the role division between
human and machine,
• Automation transparency — i.e., the level of insight
provided into the rationale underlying the automation.
• Strategic conformance — i.e., the fit between the
human and automated solution strategies.
The method constitutes a combination of analytical and
empirical work with the goal of producing guidelines for
future automation design. Specifically a series of human-inthe-loop simulations of increasing fidelity will be conducted
to study how these drivers affect acceptance and usage
patterns of automation. The Automation Acceptance Model
(AAM) is used to frame the issue of automation acceptance
in ATC.
The ATC simulator showing: 1) current performance
score, time, and runs to go, 2) the SSD of selected
aircraft, 3) conflict resolution display of another aircraft
showing a resolution advisory in an amber colour, and
4) the advisory dialogue window uses to either accept
or reject the advisory.
PhD Progress
Strategic Conformance
To date roughly half the PhD is completed. This consist of:
• Material gathered in the MUFASA project that is
currently being further analysed and synthesised into
two journal articles;
• All remaining PhD activities clearly defined;
• Experienced air traffic controllers secured for remaining
experiments;
• Nearly completed simulator and scenario development
with minor scenario design improvements for the
Transparency and Automation Bias study remaining;
While PhD publications are still a work in progress,
numerous publications have been made as part of the
MUFASA project that reflect work as part of this PhD. This
includes three consecutive yearly conference papers as
part of SESAR Innovations days and the International
Symposium on Aviation Psychology.
Publications
- C. Westin, B. Hilburn, and C. Borst, “The effect of strategic conformance on acceptance of automated advice: Concluding the MUFASA project,” in Proceedings of the 3rd SESAR
Innovation Days, D. Schaefer, Ed. Stockholm, Sweden: EUROCONTROL, 2013.
- C. Westin, C. Borst, and B. Hilburn, “Mismatches between automation and human strategies: An investigation into future Air Traffic Management decision aiding,” in Proceedings of the
17th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology, Dayton, OH: Wright State University, 2013
- C. Borst, C. Westin, and B. Hilburn, “An investigation into conflict detection and resolution strategies in Air Traffic Management,” in Proceedings of the 2nd SESAR Innovation Days, D.
Schaefer, Ed. Braunschweig, Germany: EUROCONTROL, 2012.
- C. Westin, B. Hilburn, and C. Borst, “Mismatches between automation and human strategies: An investigation into future Air Traffic Management decision aiding,” in Proceedings of the
1st SESAR Innovation Days, D. Schaefer, ED. Toulouse, France: EUROCONTROL, 2011