DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXPERT FLIGHT SYSTEMS MONITOR

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP AN EXPERT FLIGHT SYSTEM MONITOR (EFSM) FOR AIRCRAFT APPLICATIONS USING AN EXPERT SYSTEM TOOL. THE EFSM WILL MONITOR THE STATUS OF THE FLIGHT AND MISSION CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND PROPOSE RECOVERY PROCEDURES (I.E., SUCCESS PATHS) THAT THE FLIGHT CREW CAN IMPLEMENT. AN APPROACH BASED ON MONITORING CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND SUCCESS PATHS HAS DEEP JUSTIFICATIONSIN HUMAN FACTORS ANALYSIS. THE KEY ADVANTAGES ARE: A) IT RELATES TO A FLIGHT CREW'S COGNITIVE THINKING PROCESS, I.E., IT FEELS NATURAL TO THE END USER, B) IT ELEVATES THE USER FROM BEING DISTRACTED BY UNRELATED DETAILS TO BECOMING MORE OF A RESOURCE MANAGER, AND C) IT IS A SYMPTOM-ORIENTED APPROACH THAT SUBSTANTIALLY SIMPLIFIES THE KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION AND MAKES REAL-TIME APPLICATION OF AN EXPERT SYSTEM APPROACH MORE ATTRACTIVE.