![](media/image1.png){width="1.5923611111111111in"
height="1.1972222222222222in"}

AAR-100

**Human Factors Newsletter \# 01-20**

**(September 29, 2001 -- October 12, 2001)**

**Surface Safety Framework Study**: A meeting was conducted on September
28, 2001, between the principals of the Surface Safety Framework Study
and members of the ASDE-X/AMASS program offices. This meeting was
successful in providing an opportunity to exchange pertinent information
and experience between the Surface Safety Framework Study investigators
and those in the AMASS/ASDE-X program office. The meeting offered
valuable insight into several important topics, including: areas of
human performance issues (e.g., human-system surveillance, detection,
and response), information requirements and information sources,

system safety logic and incursion scenarios, and acceptable false alarms
rates and empirical experiences with alarm rates. Attendees agreed to
exchange copies of studies and analyses discussed in the meeting and
will continue to coordinate between study members and program office
members as necessary. (G. Hewitt, AAR-100)

**Rapid Prototyping/Simulation:** On September 28th, engineering
research psychologists from the William J. Hughes Technical Center's NAS
Human Factors Branch (ACT-530) briefed representatives of En Route
Systems (AUA-200), MITRE, and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) on
their rapid prototyping process and tools and their air traffic control
simulation capabilities. AUA-200 is interested in using these
capabilities to prototype Controller Pilot Data Link Communication
(CPDLC) interfaces being developed by CSC, and to conduct CPDLC
simulations. (M. McAnulty, WJHTC/ACT-530)

**Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS):** Human factors researchers
from the William J. Hughes Technical Center (ACT-530) visited
MITRE-CAASD in McLean, VA to review the Collaborative Routing
Coordination Tool (CRCT). An operational prototype of CRCT, a strategic
traffic management tool developed by MITRE, has been undergoing
continuous evaluation, development, and enhancement. CRCT functions that
are determined to be mature are being integrated into ETMS for use in
the field. The CRCT Team demonstrated the functions that are scheduled
for integration into ETMS. ACT-530 and the CRCT Team shared findings
from various evaluations of ETMS and CRCT. (T. Yuditsky, WJHTC/ACT-530)

**Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Meeting**: The HFES held
its annual meeting in Minneapolis the week of October 8, 2001. Following
is a list of papers from the Office of the Chief Scientist for Human
Factors/AAR-100, the William J. Hughes Technical Center and CAMI which
were presented at the conference (K. Krebs, AAR-100; E. Stein, WJHTC; D.
Beringer, CAMI):

-   W. Krebs/AAR-100 and A. Ahumada/NASA - Air Traffic Control Weather
    Radar Displays: Validation of a Masking Metric for Prediction of
    Text Block Identification

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   B. Willems/WJHTC - Real-time Assessment of Situation Awareness of
    Air Traffic Control Specialists on Operational Host Computer System
    and Display System Replacement Hardware

-   S. Hah/WJHTC - Computer Text Shading Algorithm

-   K. Allendoerfer/WJHTC - Advanced Weather Products on Terminal
    Automation Systems; Further Lessons Learned in the Design of
    Terminal Air Traffic Displays

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   P. DellaRocco/WJHTC - Future ATC Concepts and Air Traffic Controller
    Job Performance.

-   T. Yuditsky and R. Sollenberger/WJHTC - Display Alternatives for
    Reducing Complexity (DARC).

-   D. Beringer. and J. Ball/CAMI - A Comparison of Pilot Navigation
    Performance Using Conventional Instrumentation, Head-down, and
    Head-up Highway-in-the-Sky Primary Flight Displays

-   D. Beringer and J. Ball/CAMI - When Gauges Fail and Clouds Are Tall,
    We Miss the Airport Most of All: General Aviation Pilot Responses to
    the Loss of Attitude Information in IMC

-   W. Knecht/CAMI -- Modeling the Big Sky Theory

**JANUS**: CAMI scientists met with representatives from the FAA Offices
of Aviation Safety (ASY-1), Air Traffic Investigations (AAT-200), the
Chief Scientist for Human Factors (AAR-100), and the Runway Safety Team
(ARI-100) on October 11, 2001 to discuss CAMI\'s project to develop and
test JANUS, a human factors technique for identifying causal factors in
aviation incidents. Included was an informational briefing giving an
overview of the JANUS project being coordinated with AAT-200 and NATCA.
The CAMI scientists also met with Dr. Paul Krois (AAR-100) to discuss
activities in conjunction with the FAA/EUROCONTROL Action Plan 12 \--
Management and Reduction of Human Error in ATM. (D. Schroeder, CAMI)

**Data Link:** Members of the Data Link LACK Study Research Team held a
joint meeting at the William J. Hughes Technical Center with members of
the DSR ATDAT team to discuss special case scenarios for the study. The
purpose of the meeting was to ensure the Special Case Scenarios
concerning LAC vs NOLAC are developed to meet the needs of the test. A
LACK scenario was presented to demonstrate the capabilities of DESIREE,
the NGen TGF and the Gateway connection. Attendees were pleased with the
demonstration but provided a list of several changes to the DSR and a
few to the Data Link displays. These included features that were not
previously known. The meeting served to close the loop about what
everyone was doing and why. (E.Stein, WJHTC)

**Aviation Security Human Factors:**

**Human Factors Grants Announcement:** On September 28, personnel from
the Aviation Security Human Factors Program (AAR-510) produced an
announcement advertising funding opportunities for academic researchers.
AAR-510 will fund up to five 1-year grants to academic scientists who
perform research in the areas of human attention and object recognition.
This funding effort is designed to encourage long-term research in areas
that will affect our understanding of how the x-ray screener detects
threats. The deadline for these grant applications is December 1, 2001.
(C.George, AAR-1)

**Screener Readiness Test (SRT) Longitudinal Study:** On September 19th,
personnel from the Aviation Security Human Factors Program (AAR-510)
began the development of a longitudinal study tracking the effects of
the SRT. At least 250 screeners will be given the SRT following initial
screener training. Their threat image projection (TIP) data will be
collected every month for at least 1 year. These data will be correlated
with SRT scores to determine if the SRT predicts TIP performance over
time. These analyses will help determine the best SRT cutoff score for
maximizing threat detection performance among the screener workforce.
(C. George, AAR-1)

**Secure Flow Coordination Meeting:** Representatives of the Aviation
Security Human Factors Program (AAR-510) attended a meeting to
discuss/reevaluate the concept of aviation security free flow (i.e.,
Secure Flow) with industry representatives, including air carriers,
equipment vendors, aviation consultants, and airport operators. A
follow-on meeting is planned for October, 2001 to expand on the concept
and prepare a draft concept document. (C. George, AAR-1)

**Image Quality Tester Grant Award:** The Aviation Security Human
Factors Program

(AAR-510) and TNO human factors in the Netherlands entered into a
cooperative agreement grant on August 23. TNO will be developing a
Baggage X-ray Scanner Tester, also known as BAXSTER. BAXSTER, when
complete, will objectively assess the image quality of 2-dimensional
x-ray machines by using an operator-based test. (C. George, AAR-1)

# ***More information on human factors research can be found at***

***the FAA Human Factors (AAR-100) web site:***
[http://www.hf.faa.gov](http://www.hf.faa.gov/)

######### Mark D. Rodgers

FAA (AAR-100)

![](media/image2.png)

**October 14-18, 2001** -- Aerospace Expo 2001, Los Angeles Convention
Center, Los Angeles, CA
[http//www.aviationnow.com/conferences](../http//www.aviationnow.com/conferences)

######## **October 22-25, 2001**- Annual Cabin Safety Research Technical Group Meeting, Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, NJ 

**October 22-25, 2001** - DOD Technical Advisory Group Meeting, San
Diego, CA <http://dticam.dtic.mil/hftag/>

**October 30-31, 2001** -- FAA Research, Engineering and Development
Advisory Committee (REDAC) meeting, Washington, DC
[mailto:tom.proeschel@faa.gov](mailto:tom.proeschel@faa.gov)

**October 31-November 2, 2001** -- Air Cargo Americas 2001, Sixth
International Congress and Exhibition, Radisson Center, Miami, FL
<http://www.worldtrade.org/>

**November 4-8, 2001 --** ATCA 46^th^ Annual International Program &
Exhibits, Washington Convention Center, Wash, D.C. <http://atca.org/>

**November 5-8, 2001** -- Joint meeting of the Flight Safety Foundation
54^th^ International Air Safety Seminar, the International Federation of
Airworthiness 31^st^ Conference, and International Air Transport
Association. Theme: Keeping People Safe in a Global Environment. Athens,
Greece <http://www.flightsafety.org/>

**November 8-10, 2001** -- AOPA Expo 2001, Fort Lauderdale, FL
<http://aopa.org/expo>

**November 27-30, 2001** - The Third International Aviation Security
Technology Symposium, Tropicana Resort & Casino, Atlantic City, NJ,
sponsored by the FAA Aviation Security R&D Division and National Safe
Skies Alliance. Symposium topics include: Trace Detection, Bulk
Detection, Human Factors, Technical Integration, Operational Testing and
Evaluation, Deployment, Aircraft Hardening, Emerging Technologies, and
other related topics.
<http://www.safeskiesinternational.org/symposium_2001.htm>

**December 3-5, 2001** -- MRO Asia 2001, Regal Hotel, Hong Kong
<http://www.aviationnow.com/conferences>

**December 3-7, 2001** -- FAA/EUROCONTROL Air Traffic Management R&D
Seminar, Santa Fe, New Mexico
[http://atm2001.eurocontrol.fr](http://atm2001.eurocontrol.fr/)

**December 10-11, 2001** -- FAA/EUROCONTROL R&D Committee Meeting, Santa
Fe, New Mexico [http://atm2001.eurocontrol.fr]()

**February 26-March 3, 2002** -- Air Freight Expo 2002, Shangri-La
Hotel, Singapore <http://www.eyefortransport.com/asia2001>

**March 2002 --** European Transportation Leaders Conference, Landmark
Hotel, London <http://www.aviationnow.com/conferences>

**March 7-8, 2002** -- Potomac Chapter Human Factors and Ergonomics
Society Mid-Year Symposium, Ft. Belvoir Officer's Club, Virginia
[mailto:jerrykrueg@aol.com](mailto:jerrykrueg@aol.com)

**April 9-11, 2002** -- Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Conference &
Exhibition, Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, AZ
<http://www.aviationnow.com/conferences>

**May 5-9, 2002** -- 73^rd^ Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace
Medical Association, Queen Elizabeth's Hotel, Montreal, Canada
<http://www.asma.org/>

**September 23-27, 2002** -- Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 46^th^
Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers, Pittsburgh, PA
<http://www.hfes.org/>

**April 7-27, 2003** -- Aviation World's Fair, Newport
News/Williamsburg, VA <http://www.worlds-fair.com/>

**May 4-9, 2003** -- 74^th^ Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace
Medical Association, Convention Center, San Antonio, TX
<http://www.asma.org/>

**October 13-17, 2003** -- Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 47^th^
Annual Meeting, Adams Mark Denver Hotel, Denver, CO
<http://www.hfes.org/>

**May 2-7, 2004** -- 75^th^ Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace
Medical Association, Egan Convention Center, Anchorage, AK
<http://www.asma.org/>

**September 20-24, 2004** -- Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 48^th^
Annual Meeting, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA
<http://www.hfes.org/>

## Note: Calendar events in Italics are new since the last Newsletter

![](media/image3.png)

Comments or questions regarding this newsletter?

Please contact Bill Berger at (334) 271-2928

or via e-mail at [bill.ctr.berger
\@faa.gov](mailto:bill.ctr.berger@faa.gov)