OZ Human-Centered Flight Displays Dave Still & Tom Eskridge IHMC Background and Application

What is OZ? A unique, human-centered flight instrument Uses biological principles to constrain graphical symbology to pass through ambient vision filters Enables gestalt view of instrument Enables acquisition of multiple data points for each gaze Takes advantage of visual perception features Popout Figure-ground separation Chunking Effortless discrimination Structure from motion Uses human-centered computing principles to provide functional relevance Combine multiple data streams Uses common frame of reference

Motivations for the OZ design Keep up with the aircraft Decrease spatial disorientation / inner ear Decrease pilot workload, improve stress tolerance No memorization V speeds, power settings Decrease training Add Capability and Performance Consolidated frame of reference Agile adaptation to change/emergency Our hypothesis is that reducing the cognitive workload associated with understanding the flight attitude and environmental situation of the aircraft will enable pilots to fly and land more precisely, and have the reserve cognitive bandwidth available to make safety- and mission-critical decisions.

Versions of OZ Fixed-wing OZ Rotary-wing/VTOL OZ Design principles behind OZ have been used to create interfaces for Anesthesiologists Network Security Analysts Air Operations Center Commanders

Fixed-wing OZ

Starfield Metaphor Vertical Columns show headings The most distinctive feature of OZ is the Starfield. Stars flow towards the pilot and are responsive to pitch, roll, and yaw of the a/c. This gives OZ the functionality of the conventional attitude indicator instrument everywhere the pilot looks on the OZ interface. Horizontal Rows show altitudes

Aircraft Performance Total Drag Parasitic Drag Induced Drag OZ flight performance model is an idealization of the lift to drag curves of the aircraft. The arrow above points to the point were drag is minimized.

OZ for Helicopter/VTOL Flight model changes Starfield remains Dynamics reflect VTOL flight As late as 2002, there have been no demonstrations of successfully training hover using flight simulators: Johnson and Stewart (2002). Utility of a Personal Computer Aviation Training Device for Helicopter Flight Training. ARI Research Report 1787. We believe that OZ is the first flight display system that is capable of doing this, and have demonstrated this with one student who had never flow a helicopter before, and through the remediation of two flight students who were on the verge of failing the flight training program.

Barriers to VTOL Flight Understanding what the aircraft is doing Poor visual feedback Out the window Reduced visual environment Ambiguous cues Training Display Pulsing the controls Prevents control feedback Quick small pressure Control input reversals Positive control The most significant barrier to vertical takeoff and landing flight is keeping a current and accurate understanding of what the aircraft is doing. This is particularly important in flight regimes where the g-forces on the body are either very small (as in hovering flight) or non-traditional (such as lunar landing)

Why OZ works There are three external inputs to pilot Vision Vestibular System Instrument Symbology Vision during vertical flight is ambiguous Relative motion moving towards A/C indicates: Vertical Motion Forward Motion Pitch Up G-load on vestibular system is small Symbology provides most accurate information Haber, R. and L. Haber (2003). Perception and attention during low-altitude high-speed flight. Principles and Practice of Aviation Psychology. P. Tsang and M. Vidulich. Mawhaw, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Why OZ works Internal inputs to pilot are Perception Mental model of flight Experience OZ uses ambient vision to enhance perception over wide angle field of view OZ directly encodes a normative model of flight, relating A/C performance A/C capabilities Environment Studies have shown training with OZ leads to increased capabilities earlier in flight career OZ helo pilots have been rated to be at hour 8-10 of the normal Army helo training program after their first actual helo flight. Smith has shown pilots trained using OZ have a deeper understanding of critical flight relationships, such as the relationship between power, speed, and A/C performance envelope. Smith, C. F. and D. A. Boehm-Davis (2005). Improving Novice Flight Performance Using a Functional Flight Display. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Aviation Psychology 13th Annual Meeting. Oklahoma City, OK.

Why OZ works Separates ambiguous visual inputs into separate force components Pitch Roll Yaw Fore/Aft Up/Down Left/Right

Unambiguous Cues YAW ROLL PITCH LEFT/RIGHT UP/ DOWN FORE/ AFT The relation between the torque bar, the pitch ladder, and horizon line gives the operator unambiguous cues of the a/c orientation. Because this is accessible with ambient vision, all of the information is available in a single 1/8 second glance of the instrument. UP/ DOWN FORE/ AFT

Ascending Green Beyond Yellow Tick Torque greater than required for IGE Hover Vertical Speed Ring 5 degrees above Horizon 250 fpm Horizon above Ground Dots by 35 feet

Forward Motion Pitch Ladder 5 degrees Pitch Line Feathers Feathers Horizon Line

Drifting to right Lateral Displacement Lateral Speed Full description of the symbology dynamics is in the extra slides at the end of the presentation