Solutions for Human Automation Partnerships in European ATM

Description

The EUROCONTROL SHAPE project assessed the impact of new automation on the human operator. The project has yielded a set of questionnaires which assess the impact of automation on workload, situational awareness, teamwork and trust.

SHAPE deals with a range of issues raised by the increasing automation in European Air Traffic Management (ATM). Automation can bring success or failure, depending on whether it suits the controllers’ requirements. Experience in the introduction of automation into cockpits has shown that if Human Factors are not properly considered, ‘automation-assisted failures’ may be the end result. Seven main issues have been identified that need to be addressed to achieve a successful implementation of automation:

• Trust:

The use of automated tools will depend on the controllers' trust. Trust is a result of many factors such as reliability of the system and transparency of the functions. For a competent use of a tool, neither mistrust nor overtrust is desirable.