ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of some of the important concepts and concerns that dominate the field of pilot-automation interaction. An important milestone in research on cockpit automation was the emergence of a new focal point for research in the 1980s the design and operation of the machine agent. The results of pilot surveys indicate that learning to coordinate and cooperate with cockpit automation is a long process of continuing education. Two major trends that have occurred since the days of research on cockpit automation are described. The first one relates to a shift in interest from issues of quantity to those of quality. The second trend involves an extension in the unit of analysis of research on cockpit automation. The initial focus on the individual pilot was followed by an increasing interest in the coordination and cooperation of the entire crew.
