Effects of task allocation on air traffic management human-automation system performance

To determine the capabilities and limitations of human operators and automation in separation assurance roles, a human-in-the-loop study investigated allocation of air traffic control functions across three different conditions where amount of automation and controller tasks were varied. Participants worked a single sector with aircraft in different phases of flight. Scenarios included varying levels of traffic and purpose-built conflicts, in a 3-by-2 condition design (task automation by traffic scenario). The premise of the study was that greater amounts of automation would reduce participant workload and increase performance (fewer losses of separation and greater schedule conformance). Findings showed that while workload did decrease, on average, the best system performance overall occurred in a condition where there was some but not full automation, suggesting the value of keeping a controller purposefully involved in air traffic control.