Use-Driven Testbed for Evaluating Systems and Technologies (U-TEST)

NextGen will require the development of novel solutions to shape the airspace of tomorrow. Along with the ability to generate new systems and technologies comes the need to rigorously evaluate, and eventually validate, the effectiveness of these concepts. However, it is often challenging to translate simulation data into useful, integrated, and contextually-based assessments. Many critical findings are not identified for this reason, which could otherwise guide researchers toward advancements with NextGen technologies. Aptima proposes to develop the Use-driven Testbed for Evaluating Systems and Technologies (U-TEST), a flexible toolset that helps NextGen researchers to efficiently extract findings on pilot performance in simulated flight environments. Three primary components are: (1) context-capturing software will guide researchers to key events and allow important contextual information to be gathered for analysis; (2) a data integration platform that will automate organization of data sources into a format conducive to analysis; and (3) context-based analysis software that will enable deep, focused analysis by combining a quick-look function, an algorithm for focusing analysis, and context-based playback of key events and trials. U-TEST will be an extensible toolset that can help NextGen researchers improve the amount and quality of findings across a range of studies.