Cockpit Design Considerations

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the impact of newly integrated computer-aided design (CAD) systems in improving safety factors in the aviation industry by looking at where it can be improved. The paper looks at how CAD has incorporated the human factors principle - that is, the type of people who use the technology - into the design-making process. The paper explains that on the whole, CAD technology is an enormous improvement over older aviation design because it allows designers to visualize situations in three-dimensionality throughout the design process. CAD can provide a very good visualization overview of human interaction with the product (in this case, the pilot user interface of a cockpit). The paper also explains that CAD technology is an excellent tool for designing pilot user interfaces because it saves time and money, and CAD technology is infinitely superior to the research tools that preceded it, because it allows designers to see hypothetical human reactions to environmental stimuli in three dimension. The paper then points out that, CAD is not so intuitive that it can anticipate every conceivable human reaction that might result from a particular situation. The writer believes, therefore, that there remains a need for live testing with actual people.

Table of Contents:
Chapter I: Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Limitations
Definition of Acronyms and Terms
Chapter II: Review of Related Literature
Chapter III: Methodology
Research Design
Survey Model
Chapter IV: Results
Chapter V: Discussion
Chapter VI: Conclusion
Chapter VII: Recommendations

Appended: SPSS Version 11.0 (Student Version) Data Output Files
Excel Spreadsheet Analysis

From the Paper:

"Whenever a study examines new technology, there will be some limitations. Today, CAD technology offers the promise of creating cockpit devices that will accommodate pilots of every skill level and idiosyncrasy; although a CAD-based ergonomic analysis program allows for the creation of accurate, 3-D human models, it seems extremely unlikely that any computer program can truly simulate the enormous range of abnormal responses that can be expected of different human beings. Therefore, human subjects are desirable in assessing the effectiveness of different products within the cockpit - and finding an appropriate sample group is not easy. It is extremely difficult to assemble a representative sampling of different pilots (in simulated conditions, of course) with the intent of measuring the capability of CAD in avoiding in-air tragedies."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adler, P S. (1992). Technology and the future of work. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Charlton, S. G., & O'brien, T. G. (2002). Handbook of human factors testing and evaluation. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Cognitive Engineering in the Aviation Domain. Contributors: Rane Amalberti - editor, Nadine B. Sarter - editor. Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Place of Publication: Mahwah, NJ. Publication Year: 2000
• Backs, R. W. & Boucsein, W. (Eds.). (2000). Engineering Psychophysiology: Issues and Applications. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Berta, J.(1999, September/October). Integrating VR and CAD. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 19(5), pp.14-19.

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