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Several human factors issues in visual displays are addressed in this report. They are as follows: (1) the importance of luminance range and contrast; (2) uniformity of visual displays; (3) image quality; (4) color contrast; and (5) dot matrix fonts.
The NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for the control and ground support for all of NASA's unmanned near-earth satellites. Traditionally, each satellite had its own dedicated mission operations room. In the mid-seventies, an integration of some of these dedicated facilities was begun with the primary objective to reduce costs. In this connection, the Multi-Satellite Operations Control Center (MSOCC) was designed. MSOCC represents currently a labor intensive operation. Recently, Goddard has become increasingly aware of human factors and human-machine interface issues. A summary is provided of some of the attempts to apply human factors considerations in the design of command and control environments. Current and future activities with respect to human factors and systems design are discussed, giving attention to the allocation of tasks between human and computer, and the interface for the human-computer dialogue.
Armstrong Flight Research Center is NASA’s premier flight research center. It is located on Edwards AFB in the high desert of California. The AFRC Safety and Mission Assurance Directorates Human Factors Program is one tool that enables Armstrong to be the national center of excellence for conducting leading edge aerospace flight research, airborne science, and airborne astronomy by providing responsive, effective, and adaptive Safety & Mission Assurance support. The AFRC Human Factors Specialist is also a member of the Agency Human Factors Task Force which provides and expands the understanding and impact of Human Factors across the Agency. The Program is managed by the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA Headquarters.
As part of NASA's Human Research Program, the Space Human Factors Engineering Project serves as the bridge between Human Factors research and Human Spaceflight applications. Our goal is to be responsive to the operational community while addressing issues at a sufficient level of abstraction to ensure that our tools and solutions generalize beyond the point design. In this panel, representatives from four of our research domains will discuss the challenges they face in solving current problems while also enabling future capabilities.
This paper reviews recent human factors research studies conducted in the Aerospace Human Factors Research Division at NASA Ames Research Center related to the development and usage of Enhanced or Synthetic Vision Systems. Research discussed includes studies of field of view (FOV), representational differences of infrared (IR) imagery, head-up display (HUD) symbology, HUD advanced concept designs, sensor fusion, and sensor/database fusion and evaluation. Implications for the design and usage of Enhanced or Synthetic Vision Systems are discussed.
A human factors evaluation of the MH-53J helicopter cockpit is described. This evaluation was an application and futher development of Tools for Automated Knowledge Engineering (TAKE). TAKE is used to acquire and analyze knowledge from domain experts (aircrew members, system designers, maintenance personnel, human factors engineers, or others). TAKE was successfully utilized for the purpose of recommending improvements for the man-machine interfaces (MMI) in the MH-53J cockpit.
This document contains papers from a specialists' meeting entitled "Piloting Vertical Flight Aircraft. A Conference on Flying Qualities and Human Factors." The conference was co-sponsored by the American Helicopter Society--San Francisco Bay Chapter, and the NASA Ames Research Center. It was held January 20-22, 1993 at the Sheraton Hotel Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California. Vertical flight aircraft, including helicopters and a variety of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) concepts, place unique requirements on human perception, control, and performance for the conduct of their design missions. The intent of this conference was to examine, for these vehicles, advances in: (1) design of flight control systems for ADS-33C standards; (2) assessment of human factors influences of cockpit displays and operational procedures; (3) development of VTOL design and operational criteria; and (4) development of theoretical methods or models for predicting pilot-vehicle performance and mission suitability. Recognizing that human capabilities and limitations form an integral aspect of the operations for these classes of vehicles, a secondary goal of the conference was to provide an initial venue for enhanced interaction between human factors and handling qualities specialists.
The Human Factors Implementation Team (HFIT) process has been used to verify human factors requirements for NASA International Space Station (ISS) payloads since 2003, resulting in $2.4 million in avoided costs. This cost benefit has been realized by greatly reducing the need to process time-consuming formal waivers (exceptions) for individual requirements violations. The HFIT team, which includes astronauts and their technical staff, acts as the single source for human factors requirements integration of payloads. HFIT has the authority to provide inputs during early design phases, thus eliminating many potential requirements violations in a cost-effective manner. In those instances where it is not economically or technically feasible to meet the precise metric of a given requirement, HFIT can work with the payload engineers to develop common sense solutions and formally document that the resulting payload design does not materially affect the astronaut s ability to operate and interact with the payload. The HFIT process is fully ISO 9000 compliant and works concurrently with NASA s formal systems engineering work flow. Due to its success with payloads, the HFIT process is being adapted and extended to ISS systems hardware. Key aspects of this process are also being considered for NASA's Space Shuttle replacement, the Crew Exploration Vehicle.
The early Constellation space missions are expected to have medical capabilities very similar to those currently on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS). For Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) missions to ISS, medical equipment will be located on ISS, and carried into CEV in the event of an emergency. Flight Surgeons (FS) on the ground in Mission Control will be expected to direct the Crew Medical Officer (CMO) during medical situations. If there is a loss of signal and the crew is unable to communicate with the ground, a CMO would be expected to carry out medical procedures without the aid of a FS. In these situations, performance support tools can be used to reduce errors and time to perform emergency medical tasks. Work on medical training has been conducted in collaboration with the Medical Training Group at the Space Life Sciences Directorate and with Wyle Lab which provides medical training to crew members, Biomedical Engineers (BMEs), and to flight surgeons under the JSC Space Life Sciences Directorate s Bioastronautics contract. The space medical training work is part of the Human Factors in Training Directed Research Project (DRP) of the Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Project under the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) Element of the Human Research Program (HRP). Human factors researchers at Johnson Space Center have recently investigated medical performance support tools for CMOs on-orbit, and FSs on the ground, and researchers at the Ames Research Center performed a literature review on medical errors. The work proposed for FY10 continues to build on this strong collaboration with the Space Medical Training Group and previous research. This abstract focuses on two areas of work involving Performance Support Tools for Space Medical Operations. One area of research building on activities from FY08, involved the feasibility of just-in-time (JIT) training techniques and concepts for real-time medical procedures. In Phase 1, preliminary feasibility data was gathered for two types of prototype display technologies: a hand-held PDA, and a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The PDA and HMD were compared while performing a simulated medical procedure using ISS flight-like medical equipment. Based on the outcome of Phase 1, including data on user preferences, further testing was completed using the PDA only. Phase 2 explored a wrist-mounted PDA, and compared it to a paper cue card. For each phase, time to complete procedures, errors, and user satisfaction ratings were captured.
This paper considers what is involved in certification processes and their relation to human factors aspects of systems. It derives from recognition of a lack of understanding of the processes and purposes of certification. This was encountered when attempting to address the workshop topic by integrating an understanding of human factors with the observed processes of certification. The paper considers what human factors (HF) certification might be and then develops a simple model of the elements of a certification process. It then tries to relate these elements to the needs of the aviation communities and other parties with an interest in the certification of advance aviation technologies.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) contracted Sandia National Laboratories to review the risks introduced specifically through human interactions within hydrogen rail refueling and maintenance activities and present recommendations for future system development and implementation. Due to the lack of domestic hydrogen-powered trains at the time of review, observational data was collected on analogous existing systems to consider various ways hydrogen might be implemented within future designs. The team developed 50 human factors design guidelines through analysis of human risk factors. Because hydrogen rail systems are still in the early design stage, the resulting human factors guidelines represent general best practices and do not include specific design features. The research team recommends design and regulatory agencies include a Human Factors Engineer in the design and review process to ensure the guidelines are appropriately implemented and verified.
The NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer (CHMO) recently directed that the agency establish crew health standards to aid in the development of requirements for future vehicles and habitats. Response to this direction includes development of a new NASA habitability and human factors standard and an accompanying design handbook. The new standard contains high-level, over-arching principles to assure its applicability and usability across all NASA development programs. The handbook will provide detailed design requirements and suggestions that will meet the standards. The information contained in NASA-STD-3000 will be updated and included in the new design handbook. In this approach, each new program will derive detailed program-specific requirements from the new standard using the handbook as a design guide and resource. With the completion of the standard, the focus of this year s effort is the development of the new handbook: Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH). This is an opportunity for the space flight human factors and habitability community to consolidate up-to-date data for use by NASA programs and designers as well as outside researchers and policy makers looking for the next research focus. The goal of the handbook is to help NASA design and build human space flight systems which accommodate the capabilities and limitations of the crew so as to provide an environment where the crew can live and work effectively, safely, and comfortably. Handbook contents will address that primary goal, addressing unique aspects of space flight and habitation, including reduced gravity conditions, time lags, EVA systems and day/night cycles, not addressed in other standards or handbooks. The handbook will be divided into topics similar to NASA-STD-3000 (anthropometrics, architecture, workstations, etc.) and each topic area will contain elements for designers, human factors practitioners, program managers, operators, and researchers. The handbook will include the following elements: (1) Design considerations include a clear and concise summary of what is important to designers in space vehicle / habitat design, design information to translate Earth-base knowledge to the space environment, space issues and the data necessary to address those issues, and a consistent set of terminology. (2) Updates to Lessons Learned and example solutions from Shuttle and Station program experience will provide historical examples to help prevent repeating mistakes or reinvention of the wheel. (3) Requirements will aid in the translation of standards into program specific requirements. The scope of included requirements will define the pool that each program needs to consider and tailor for their specific program. (4) Requirements rationale will help understanding of the importance of these considerations. The HIDH development team at JSC is finalizing the format of the new handbook, prioritizing topic areas for expansion and update, and contacting subject matter experts within the scientific community to assist with this effort. Plans are also being made to continue handbook expansion and maintenance to assure it remains a valuable resource for human factors and human space flight programs.
Accidents and incidents show that high workload-induced stress and poor teamwork skills lead to performance decrements and errors. Research on teamwork shows that effective teams are able to adapt to stressful situations, and to reduce workload by using successful strategies for communication and decision making, and through dynamic redistribution of tasks among team members. Furthermore, superior teams are able to recognize signs and symptoms of workload-induced stress early, and to adapt their coordination and communication strategies to the high workload, or stress conditions. Mission Control Center (MCC) teams often face demanding situations in which they must operate as an effective team to solve problems with crew and vehicle during onorbit operations. To be successful as a team, flight controllers (FCers) must learn effective teamwork strategies. Such strategies are the focus of Space Flight Resource Management (SFRM) training. SFRM training in MOD has been structured to include some classroom presentations of basic concepts and case studies, with the assumption that skill development happens in mission simulation. Integrated mission simulations do provide excellent opportunities for FCers to practice teamwork, but also require extensive technical knowledge of vehicle systems, mission operations, and crew actions. Such technical knowledge requires lengthy training. When SFRM training is relegated to integrated simulations, FCers can only practice SFRM after they have already mastered the technical knowledge necessary for these simulations. Given the centrality of teamwork to the success of MCC, holding SFRM training till late in the flow is inefficient. But to be able to train SFRM earlier in the flow, the training cannot rely on extensive mission-specific technical knowledge. Hence, the need for a generic SFRM training framework that would allow FCers to develop basic teamwork skills which are mission relevant, but without the required mission knowledge. Work on SFRM training has been conducted in collaboration with the Expedition Vehicle Division at the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) and with United Space Alliance (USA) which provides training to Flight Controllers. The space flight resource management training work is part of the Human Factors in Training Directed Research Project (DRP) of the Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Project under the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) Element of the Human Research Program (HRP). Human factors researchers at the Ames Research Center have been investigating team work and distributed decision making processes to develop a generic SFRM training framework for flight controllers. The work proposed for FY10 continues to build on this strong collaboration with MOD and the USA Training Group as well as previous research in relevant domains such as aviation. In FY10, the work focuses on documenting and analyzing problem solving strategies and decision making processes used in MCC by experienced FCers.
It is appropriate here to repeat the analogy described in the introduction to this paper which is that: The consideration of human factors requirements during the design stage of advanced, new technology systems may be seen as resting over a three-legged stool. The first leg, the equipment that a system will utilize to achieve its goals, has traditionally attracted ergonomic considerations associated with equipment design, usually centered around 'knobs and dials.' Lately, this view has expanded to include the so-called other important aspect of Human Factor's study which deals with the cognitive, behaviorial and social processes of the human operators. Study in this area must be furthered. The second leg of the stool, the procedures to operate the equipment, however, has been largely unaddressed. Procedures are not inherent to equipment, but must be developed. The importance of proper human factors consideration in the design of procedures can not be overstated. Lastly, the third leg of the stool, the certification of personnel who will operate the equipment, is very much underway, but far from being complete. The real quest now, however, is to integrate these three legs into an indivisible one. Finally, and most importantly, this workshop and its topic are extremely timely in that we are at the dawn of the most ambitious development ever undertaken in international civil aviation. This would allow us the rather unique opportunity to put theory into practice in the near future by ensuring that the concepts developed and furthered by this workshop and the follow-up are implemented in the design and certification of the ICAO future CNS/ATM systems described earlier in this paper. Now is the time to incorporate human factors requirements during the certification processes of these systems. This might act as a test to the feasibility of these ideas. Such endeavors represent a challenge for the research, engineering, training, operational and regulatory communities. But there is certainly more to be gained by attempting to meet the challenge rather than refraining from progress by decrying the difficulties involved.
The use of CLIPS has transformed a conventional graduate course on the human factors of software. Previously, the class centered on lectures and discussions of a mix of ideas for improving the user-friendliness of software. By using CLIPS, the course can focus instead on teaching students to build three rule-based projects in CLIPS for improving the human factors of software. For the first project, students construct a friendly CLIPS front-end to existing software. For the second project students build a CLIPS expert system to help comply with user-interface guidelines. Alternatively, students may build an expert system to assist in detecting discrepancies between user-interfaces and guidelines. For the third project, students use CLIPS to implement a GOMS Model Methodology to assess the human performance impacts of given user-interfaces. Feedback on the projects from the students' colleagues and superiors in the workplace confirm the effectiveness of this CLIPS project-oriented approach to teaching the human factors of user-computer systems. Future refinements are described. Suggestions for those wishing to try this approach are outlined.
The purpose is to provide and overview of human factors issues that impact the effectiveness of user interfaces to automated scheduling tools. The following methods are employed: (1) a survey of planning and scheduling tools; (2) the identification and analysis of human factors issues; (3) the development of design guidelines based on human factors literature; and (4) the generation of display concepts to illustrate guidelines.
This chapter will chronicle the journey of the community of operators, regulators, and researchers who embarked upon the task of identifying critical human factors of maintenance and inspection, establishing a database and research tools, developing practical strategies for reducing the risks of maintenance and inspection errors, and understanding its critical role in preserving flight safety. We will take a historical perspective, developing a timeline that is largely driven by key events such as accidents and regulatory/government actions and initiatives. Part 1 focuses on how the field of maintenance human factors was built, beginning in the late 1980’s. Part 2 describes the development of methods and tools for meeting the maintenance human factors challenges identified. Finally, Part 3 updates the original chapter by focusing on issues that have persisted or emerged since 2010.
NASA’s Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Sub-Project is engaged in research to support the introduction of air taxis into the National Airspace System. An important aspect of system development is to consider the human factors aspects of aircraft design. This presentation gives a background on human factors and suggests some important human factors issues for UAM and Advanced Air Mobility.