Human machine interface aspects of the ground control station for unmanned air transport

The GCS (Ground Control Station) is an elementary part of the UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System). It provides the connection between the human pilot and the air-borne part of the UAS, the drone. While early GCS have been merely more than simple remote controls, a modern GCS can do more than just relaying steering commands to the drone. Instead, it provides an important contribution to the safety of the UAS operation. This is achieved by presenting the pilot preprocessed information from the drone and secondary data sources. Utilizing design principles developed in human machine interface (HMI) theory, these information can be shown to the pilot without distraction and making optimal use of the data. This chapter summarizes design principles and challenges for HMIs in aviation use. The focus is on challenges related to UAS operations and UAS GCS in particular. The design process for the GCS U-FLY will be described, and some results of a real-world test in the context of two application projects will be presented