A Closed-Loop, Act-R Approach to Modeling Approach and Landing with and without Synthetic Vision System (SVS) Technology

Abstract

We present a computational model of closed-loop, pilot-displays-aircraft system designed to evaluate the impact of the addition of a synthetic vision system (SVS) to a commercial airliner cockpit. The NASA-run empirical study revealed that while pilots rarely looked out the window during most phases of approach and landing, they devoted a substantial proportion of their gaze toward the SVS. A model pilot implemented in ACT-R was connected to a commercial flight simulator package in an attempt to model pilots' attention allocation behaviors. Based on metrics such as transitions from one display to another, the model provides a good approximation to pilot behaviors and should allow us to perform virtual experiments on the impact of changes to the SVS.