Abstract
The MITRE Corporation examined the effectiveness of a spatial algorithm to assess pilot conformance to assigned surface taxi routes. This capability, designed and developed by Mosaic ATM, is envisioned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be implemented as part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) to improve surface safety and efficiency. Thirteen participants were asked to serve as ground controllers in a tower simulator at The MITRE Corporation’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), moving simulated traffic from the ramp area to the runway edge while monitoring each aircraft’s conformance to taxi clearances. Results indicate that the algorithm was sufficient for improving detection accuracy of pilot deviations. In addition, controllers reported high trust in the system, likely due to their ability to understand its simplistic logic and predict its behavior. However, the lack of predictive information resulted in alert onsets that were too late and failed to improve detection response time. Results suggest that spatial algorithms, which consider only the aircraft’s position on the airport surface and use no predictive information, can be useful in supporting effective event detection, but that predictive information may be useful in maximizing their benefit.
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