ATC MAN/MACHINE INTERFACE DESIGN USING A PC-BASED SIMULATOR

AN IBM PC-COMPATIBLE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SIMULATOR WITH VOICE I/O, AN EXTENSIVE DATABASE OF GEOGRAPHICAL FIXES, AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION VIA AN EXPERT SYSTEM IS PROPOSED. THIS SIMULATOR WILL BE DESIGNED TO FACILITATE AIRSPACE DESIGN ANDPROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT. CAPABLE OF DISPLAYING A REALTIME RADARSCOPE PICTURE OF ANY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA, ITS SECTORS MAYBE CREATED VIA A SIMPLE USER INTERFACE BY FIELD PERSONNEL. THE SIMULATOR WILL GENERATE REALISTIC TRAFFIC FLOWS, COMPLETE WITH "INTELLIGENT" PILOTS WHO "TALK" USING A SYNTHESIZED VOICE AND FOLLOW CORRECT PROCEDURES. A MANUAL MODE WILL RESPOND TO VOICE COMMANDS ISSUED BY FIELD PERSONNEL AND ACCOMODATE INFORMAL COMPARISONS, BUT AN "AUTOMATIC" MODE COULD USE AN EXPERT SYSTEM TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS AND EVALUATE SOLUTIONS QUANTITATIVELY. PHASE II WORK INCLUDES INCREASING THE CAPABILITY OF THIS SIMULATOR BY UPGRADING THE EXPERT SYSTEM RULES TO IMPROVE CONFLICT RECOGNITION AND RESOLUTION AND CONDUCTING FIELD TRIALS OF THE SIMULATOR AT A REAL-WORLD ATC FACILITY.