Evaluation of the Potential Format and Content of a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information

Abstract

Computer-generated displays of traffic information may be available in airplane cockpits within a decade. Many questions exist, however, about the impact of such displays on the air traffic control system. The purpose of the following studies was to design suitable display(s) to be used in simulation research aimed at answering these questions. The initial approach was to solicit opinions from general aviation and airline pilots about display format, information content, and symbology after they had viewed more than 100 candidate displays and display options. The pilots' responses provided a preliminary indication of what information the potential user-population felt should be included in a traffic display. A series of later experiments was conducted to determine whether the features preferred in the pilot opinion survey would contribute to accurate and efficient pilot assessment of the spatial relationship between their own and another aircraft. A series of encounters between two aircraft were simulated in which the speed, heading, altitude, and geometrical relationship between the two aircraft were varied to allow a comparison between several graphic and symbolic formats for presenting information about the two aircraft.