UAS Integration in the NAS

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is a new digital technology designed to make air travel more convenient, predictable, and environmentally friendly. This satellite-based system is transforming the National Airspace System by providing technology that can be used to reduce traffic delays, save time and fuel, increase capacity, and allow air traffic controllers to monitor and manage aircraft with greater safety margins. Every day the US continues to build upon the NextGen infrastructure by working with aviation community partners around the world to introduce new capabilities and provide additional benefits (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2014). The major goal of NextGen is to significantly increase the safety, security, and capacity of National Airspace System operations.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has often relied on human pilot eyesight to avoid midair collisions even when transponders or radar systems are present. With the FAA's new Data Communications (Data Comm) techonology, controllers can send digital messages to pilots in the cockpit. As with voice, these messages instruct pilots to fly a particular route, climb or descend to a particular altitude, contact a new air traffic control facility or follow other guidance (FAA, n.d.a). Flight crew requests and reports can be transmitted through digital messages to controllers on the ground.

The FAA ensures an equivalent level of safety to UAS as that of manned aircraft. The FAA Data Communications technology can support the UAS operators with lost link scenarios as well. Autopilot systems perform a “lost-link” procedure if communication becomes disconnected between ground control and the UAS. This process usually involves creating a lost-link profile where the UAS can fly a pre-programmed contingency route based on its current state of flight altitude, orientation, etc. The NAS Voice System (NVS) uses Voice over Intranet Protocol (VoIP) to take advantage of cost-effective commercial routers and computer systems. NVS will enable air traffic controllers to talk to UAS operators on the ground no matter where they are located (FAA, n.d.b). This exciting technology can possibly limit the amount of human factor errors caused by lost link scenarios.

The implementation of automation into a role that is cognitively demanding can be quite concerning from a human factors perspective. One common concern among pilots and avionics makers is the development of user-friendly and connected flight decks. The goal of creating next-generation flight decks that are safer and more efficient require examination of today’s integrated system. The capabilities deemed necessary to achieve this goal will bring major changes to the flight deck, including Internet-like information services, access through them to a common weather picture, integration of weather information into flight deck decision making, negotiated four-dimensional aircraft trajectories, means for equivalent visual operations in low visibility conditions, delegated self-separation, and equipment and procedures for super-density arrival and departure operations (Funk, Mauro, Barshi, 2009). Pilots will become more tightly coupled to their aircraft via a growing number of man-machine interfaces, known in human factors circles as modalities (Croft 2013). The increasingly complex automation systems will require flexibility to limit human factor errors.

References

Barnhart, R. K., Shappee, E., and Marshall, D. M. (2012). Introduction to unmanned aircraft systems. New York, NY: CRC Publishing.

Croft, J. (2013, April 22). Connectivity, human factors drive NextGen cockpit. Aviation Week. Retrieved from http://aviationweek.com/awin/connectivity-human-factors-drive-next-gen-cockpit

FAA. (n.d.a). Data communications. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/update/progress_and_plans/data_comm/

FAA. (n.d.b). NAS voice system. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/update/progress_and_plans/nas_voice_system/

Funk, K., Mauro, R., & Barshi, I. (2009). 2009 International symposium on aviation psychology. International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (ISAP), Dayton, Ohio.

U. S. Department of Transportation. (2014). The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Retrieved from https://www.transportation.gov/mission/sustainability/next-generation-air-transportation-system-nextgen