| This thesis investigates the effects of a conflict detection aid on controller situation awareness, workload and overall performance in a Direct Routing environment. Direct Routing is a concept that is aimed at increasing aircraft throughput while maximizing efficiency in the national airspace system. However, much concern has been raised regarding lapses in situation awareness and increased workload levels that controllers may experience as a result of its implementation. Such lapses have been attributed to the inability of the controller to predict an aircraft's future trajectory. A prototype interface designed to give some predictability back to the controller was the focus of the present study. Results from the experiment suggest that the interface would assist controllers in making trajectory predictions at lower levels of workload, without compromising situation awareness. The findings also highlight the limitations of human predictive capability in the absence of using automated aids. |
