Modular Adaptive Interface Suite (MAIS)

Advances in aircraft performance and operational capabilities have led to a dramatic increase in the operational tempo facing the air combat (fixed- or rotary-wing) aviator, reducing the time available to process larger sets of tactically-relevant information and make effective operational decisions based on that information. The technological and information advances of Network Centric Warfare (NCW) have resulted in an explosion in the sheer quantity and complexity of information available to pilots. Pilots must track, monitor, and process information arriving from many information sources and integrate that information into their cognitive decision-making processes. The problems of these environments can be grouped into three error categories: situation assessment (SA) failures, workload-related errors, and human biases. To counter these increasingly complex operational environments, we must develop advanced human/computer interface (HCI) capabilities that will make optimal use of human operators’ cognitive resources. In light of this need, we propose to design and prototype a Modular Adaptive Interface Suite (MAIS), a modular software system for generating display adaptations based on computational situation assessment models, operator mental and physical state tracking, and cognitive bias tracking to drive the content, format, and modality of information displayed in advanced aviation systems.