Application of color to reduce complexity in air traffic control.

Technical notePDFTech ReportDOT/FAA/CT-TN03/01Air traffic controlAir traffic controllersAirspace utilizationAviation safetyCoding systemsColor codesPerformance evaluationsRadar displaysNew JerseyWilliam J. Hughes Technical Center (U.S.)Yuditsky, TanyaSollenberger, Randy L.Della Rocco, Pamela S.Friedman-Berg, FerneManning, Carol A.William J. Hughes Technical Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Human Factors Research and Engineering DivisionNTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic ControlNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Safety/AirworthinessNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Aviation Safety/AirworthinessUS Transportation CollectionThe United States Air Traffic Control (ATC) system is designed to provide for the safe and efficient flow of airtraffic from origin to destination. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that traffic levels will continueincreasing over the foreseeable future. It is important to identify and reduce the factors that increase ATCcomplexity because of the potential consequences of errors. This research examined the application of specificinformation coding techniques to ATC displays as a method of reducing complexity in the en route environment. Ittested color coding of (a) aircraft destination airport, (b) overflights, and (c) Special Use Airspace. Eight CertifiedProfessional Controllers participated in the high fidelity, human-in-the-loop simulation. Results indicated that thesespecific enhancements may improve controller performance and efficiency. However, when we presented all of theenhancements simultaneously, we did not find the beneficial effects that occurred when we tested the enhancementsindividually. Further research is needed to systematically investigate the application of color to radar displays in thedynamic Air Traffic environment