HUMAN FACTORS
Preliminary tests by NASA are investigating how
drone-related information should be communicated
to ATC and pilots.
Photo: NASA
AIR TRAFFIC TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2020 21.
flight data processing system. Controllers
stopped using the emergency backup mode
when the system was found to be unstable.
As a result, aircraft movements at Dublin
were severely curtailed with diversions to
Belfast and Shannon. Aircraft flight plan data
decoupled from the corresponding radar
track on the screen and controllers lost
confidence in the system as workload
increased. Investigators found a faulty
network interface computer card was to
blame for flooding the network with
spurious messages. No aircraft were put at
risk, according to a report issued by the Irish
Aviation Authority.
Woods believes that no system is perfect,
so the challenge turns to how well is it
designed to help the humans deal with
disruption when it occurs.
A recent study by Woods funded by NASA
examined how drones with on-board selfcontrol
capacity and automated decision
making can offset unreliable command and
control links to permit operations to
continue during a lost link. The study found
that controllers did not rely on a drone
providing self-separation with onboard
detect and avoid capability when satellite
communications were lost. Instead
controllers diverted other traffic away from
the drone. The study only focused on four air
vehicles at one time and did not ask what
might happen during lost links when bad
weather is added to the mix. The report
concludes that more work is needed to
analyze the effects of deployment of
autonomous capabilities on integrated air
traffic systems.
Woods was surprised when some industry
executives consulted him about the findings
and said they wanted the drones to rely
exclusively on satellite communications for
the link being studied rather than using
diverse channels. According to Woods, they
said it would be easier and cheaper to
manage and operate a sole source system.
“That was the conversation and it indicates
the pressures the industry is under,” he says.
Woods adds that even when it comes to
the careful study of innovative technologies
such as detect and avoid for drones there is
not enough money for a broad examination
of the critical issues involved.
Dealing with disruption
Considering a wide range of disruptive
conditions and how different pieces of
automation can act as cooperative agents in
a shared activity space will be key to
handling disruption when it occurs. “You
can guarantee uncertainty is going to have to
be resolved and that you will need
anticipatory information to develop decisive