PROCEEDINGS OF THE HUMAN FACTORS SOCIETY-31st ANNUAL MEETING1987 THE APPLICATION OF HUMAN FACTORS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERT SYSTEMS FOR ADVANCED COCKPITS

Expert system applications must be carefully selected, designed and integrated into the cockpit based on a full understanding of the pilot's tasks, requirements, and capabilities. In this paper, expert systems development issues in the following areas are identified and addressed utilizingprocesses, methodologies and knowledge from the human factors field: the selection of systems to automate, the elicitation of expert knowledge from pilots, role allocation between the pilot and the system, system design issues, and system evaluation. Considerations of pilot workload, situational awareness, performance and pilot acceptance are considered key to the successful design and implementation of expert systems which will truly enhance the pilot in the performance of his tasks. Today's tactical aircraft possess highly developed, complex cockpit systems, the result of spiraling technological advances incurred on the part of the United States and other nations, as they have stiven for air supremacy in potential combat situations. The fighter pilot currently must operate a host of sophisticated avionic systems, maintain desired flight control , conduct nav igat ional and communications tasks, and gather and process the raw data needed to make complex tactical decisions. In this process, the pilot's life is wholly dependent on his ability to rapidly and accurately carry out these often simultaneous and mentally demanding activities. Artificial intelligence (Al) / expert systems have been proposed as a means of alleviating excessive pilot workload and of augmenting pilot response in future fighter aircraft. These highly desirable objectives will not be fulfilled, however, by the indiscriminant use of A l in the cockpit. A piecemeal addition of expert systems will only leave the pilot with more systems to manage and many of his needs left unfulfilled. Expert system applications must be carefully selected, designed, and integrated into the cockpit based on a full understanding of the pilot's tasks, requirements, and capabilities. Fighter aircraft are a new domain for expert systems. As such, the development of this emerging technology in the aircraft brings many issues and questions regarding its interaction with the pilot. These issues will need to be addressed in order to develop a working system which meets the needs of the pilot and achieves the desired improvement in overall pilot/system performance. Kampfner (1 983), Ziegler (1983) and Maida (1985) have each emphasized the need for a more explicit consideration of human factors in the Allexpert systems field. This is particularly true in the case of expert systems developed for combat aircraft. Such an environment demands smooth and rapid interactions between the pilot and his system. There is no room for error or hesitation. It is the main contention of this paper that the human factors profession can contribute to the process of selecting, designing, and developing expert systems for the aircraft environment, as success in such processes depends highly on an understanding of the cognitive processes of the humans being modeled and aided. SFI FCTlON OF SYSTFMS TO AUTOMATE In the past, the developers of expert systems have selected problem domains primarily on the basis of technical considerations. The result of such an approach will be a piecemeal system which may actually provide little benefit to the pilot in the performance of his tasks. The selection of pilot tasks for expert system automation must be based not only on an understanding of the capabilities of the technology, but also on a systematic consideration of the needs of the pilot. Northrop Aircraft, in association with Perceptronics, has developed a methodology for identifying those aircraft functions. which are suitable for automation as a part of the CocKpit Automation Technology (CAT) Program. [The