ABSTRACT
An examination of the ‘En-Route’ Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, summarised in Dee (1996) and in more depth in David (1997a), led to the publication of EEC Report 307, (David, 1997b). This report describes how En-Route ATC can be re-designed to provide a human-oriented task (primarily conflict resolution) supported by computer-based facilities, employing satellite communication and navigation systems. Briefly, after a careful task definition, a set of task analyses assuming different levels of human involvement were carried out, and a semi-automated system was adopted. Sub-tasks were allocated to define a satisfying, functional human controller task. Displays and control operations were then devised to provide simple (for the controller) displays and control options. The system was adapted, for demonstration purposes, to use a conventional lowprecision colour display and a standard (QWERTY) keyboard. Although general design principles suggest that a three-dimensional image would be most appropriate, a co-planar display is in practice preferable (May et al 1996,Wickens 2000).
