Automation and Air Traffic Control Neil May, Head Human Factors

An Introduction to NATS

Airport Air Traffic Control ABERDEEN EDINBURGH MANCHESTER STANSTED LONDON CITY FARNBOROUGH SOUTHAMPTON HEATHROW BRISTOL CARDIFF LUTON BELFAST x 2 GLASGOW Airport Air Traffic Control 14 major UK airports Gibraltar 9 airports in Spain

En-route Air Traffic Control Prestwick Handles on average 3,500 flights/day Eastern Half of North Atlantic Oceanic Airspace Northern Half of UK Domestic Airspace Swanwick Handles on average 6,000 flights/day Southern Half of UK Domestic Airspace Arrivals and Departures from London Airports Military Air Traffic Control NATS PRIVATE 4

European Airspace Oceanic (from Prestwick) Prestwick + Swanwick = 2.2 million km2 Prestwick + Swanwick = 1 million km2 - 11% of Europe’s airspace

General Observations about Automation and Air Traffic Control

General Observations The controller is in control, it is they who hold the Air Traffic Control licence. Automation in Air Traffic Control is not new. There is already lots of automation being used e.g. radar, electronic flight progress strips, short term conflict alert, code callsign conversion, datalink etc. Automation does not make decisions. It provides information that assists the controller in doing their job safely, effectively and efficiently. Automation can be thought of as being “assistive technology” or an “electronic team member” that supports the controller.

General Observations People create safety. They must be in conscious control of the safety critical decisions. People use their experience, knowledge, training and intuition to detect cues and subtle changes, to diagnose problems, to adapt, and to create innovative ways to solve problems. Automation can quickly and consistently process large quantities of data but can cause the system to become “brittle” when faced with novel situations. Automation must service the needs of the controller, not the other way around.

Benefits of Automation The benefits of Automation in Air Traffic Control are many and include: Increased safety. Increased consistency and reliability of service. Increased interconnectivity between sectors, units, service providers, controllers / pilots. Increased resilience of operation. Reduced environmental impact. Reduced cost.

Watch-outs for Automation There are a number of potential pitfalls associated with automation that need careful consideration to ensure that it is implemented and used safely: System Considerations. The Role of the Controller. Design. Training. Trust / Complacency. Safety Accountability / Safety Assurance. Degradation / Fallbacks / Contingency.

Policy and Strategies Air Traffic Control Providers need to have a policy for how they will support the controller by using assistive technology (automation). This should be supported by strategies identifying: The benefits to be gained from using automation and how these will be realised. The potential pitfalls associated with using automation and how these will be identified and mitigated. The system view and the interdependencies between automated functions. The way in which safety assurance will be provided for a system with increased automation.

UK CAA Document CAP 1377 A great introduction to the issues associated with the implementation of automation in Air Traffic Management

Automation Themes Business Case Human Centred Design Safety Obligations Systems Integration Training Continuity of Service Transition Emergent Behaviours

Strengths & Weaknesses Continuity Requirements 1. Business Case Costs & Benefits Strengths & Weaknesses Continuity Requirements

Automation Bias and Complacency Human Machine Interaction 2. Human Centered Design Automation Bias and Complacency Human Machine Interaction

3. Safety Obligations Minimise monitoring by humans Limit user responsibility Increase responsibility of design authority Appropriate and unambiguous

Interfaces and dependences must be robust 4. Systems Integration Interfaces and dependences must be robust

Deep understanding of the automation 5. Training Deep understanding of the automation Adaptation of controlling style Train to deal with the unexpected

6. Continuity of Service Expect dragons (Woods 2015) Obvious and graceful degradation Train for preparedness Maintain sufficient capacity

7. Transition Evolutionary Well timed Sequential

Normalisation of deviance (Cook 2015) 8. Emergence Normalisation of deviance (Cook 2015) Awareness and assurance of system upgrades

Automation Themes Business Case Human Centred Design Safety Obligations Systems Integration Training Continuity of Service Transition Emergent Behaviours

Thank you