Human Factors Research & Engineering Group
Human Factors Team-Atlantic City (HFTAC)

News & Updates

January 6, 2009

We added TC-08/12: Human Factors Assessment of the En Route Information Display System by Mike McAnulty, Randy Sollenberger, Anton Koros, and Mark Hale.  ERIDS provides controllers with several types of information electronically via a touchscreen at each radar position. It replaces paper documents, such as maps and charts, that were shared by controllers from multiple sectors. The study examined the benefits of the fielded ERIDS and identified usability problems. The study confirmed that ERIDS eliminates the problem of information not being readily available, and saves controllers effort and time.  The study includes several recommendations to make ERIDS more effective and easier to use.

December 22, 2008

We added TC-08/14-II: Future En Route Workstation Study (FEWS II): Part 1 − Automation Integration Research by Ben Willems and Sehchang Hah.  FEWS is a multiyear project to develop and evaluate a workstation for en route controllers that allows them to handle the volume and complexity of traffic projected over the next decade.  FEWS incorporates many advanced user interface concepts and helps controllers effectively manage their workload.  This technical report is the second in a series describing results from human-in-the-loop simulations evaluating FEWS.

Mission

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Human Factors Team-Atlantic City (HFTAC) employs scientific methods and advanced technology in the conduct of research and development to ensure that systems that include human operators and maintainers perform as effectively and safely as possible.

What Makes Us Unique

The members of the Human Factors Team-Atlantic City have a broad range of skills, knowledge, and experience that distinguishes them from other organizations conducting human factors work for the FAA. In addition to having graduate training in human factors, psychology, engineering, and related fields, we have studied air traffic control, NAS maintenance, and flight deck operations by working closely with current controllers, technicians, and pilots. We use the William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) laboratories that contain all the current and developmental systems in the National Airspace System (NAS), and regularly visit FAA field facilities to observe and collect data about their operations.  Our engineering research psychologists speak the users' language while maintaining a scientific, human-centered, system-oriented perspective.

Within the Research, Development, and Human Factors Laboratory (RDHFL), we conduct research to develop methods of measuring human performance in the aviation environments, to evaluate longer term operational concepts, and to develop useful databases and design standards. The R&D Labs Group provides outstanding technical, engineering, and computer science support to these efforts.  Together, we have developed high fidelity rapid prototyping and human-in-the-loop simulation capabilities coupled with specialized human operator and system performance measures.  Finally, we use this information and methods to work with stakeholder groups to evaluate existing systems and to design nearer term developmental systems and procedures to ensure that the operators and maintainers can use them safely and effectively to perform their critical jobs.  The collocation and collaboration between the research and acquisition personnel and activities increases the relevance and quality of our products.  The human-centered design processes are intended to make these frequently complex systems relatively easy to learn and use so as to increase productivity and efficiency while minimizing the potential for error.  Our focus is on designing systems and procedures for the NAS that meet the needs of the operators and maintainers, and ultimately the FAA customers (pilots, airlines, commercial operations, and the traveling public) rather than on trying to select, train, and manage people that can use technology-centered systems.