Application of ecological interface design to aviation

grantor: University of TorontoThe objective of this thesis is to determine the extent to which previous research on Ecological Interface Design (EID), conducted in the context of process control, can be adapted to design more effective status displays for engineering systems in aviation cockpits. The primary outcome of this research is a prototype EID interface for the engineering systems of Hercules C-130 Model E-H aircraft. This thesis includes the currently available literature on aircraft status display design, principles of EID, previous EID research conducted by the Cognitive Engineering Laboratory at the University of Toronto, two field studies observing Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Hercules crews, analysis and design of the prototype EID interface, an evaluation of the prototype conducted with CAF Hercules C-130 Flight Engineers, and a comparison of the operating philosophies inherent to EID and those currently existing in the aviation industry. The results of this study provide a proof of concept showing that: (a) the principles of EID can be meaningfully applied to the aircraft engineering systems of a Hercules C-130; (b) EID needs to be supplemented by more specific design principles; (c) it is possible to effectively integrate EID with these other design principles. In conclusion, EID has been shown to be a viable candidate for the design of engineering systems status displays within the aviation industry.M.A.Sc