Performance of Air Traffic Control Specialists (ATCS'S) on a Laboratory Radar Monitoring Task: An Exploratory Study of Complacency and a Comparison of ATCS and Non-ATCS Performance,

The role of the air traffic control specialist ATCS is proposed highly automated air traffic systems of the future is currently receiving considerable attention. At the present time, a prevalent conception of the controllers role in such systems is that of a systems monitor or systems manager. Inherent in this view is the belief that the role of the future controller will be less that of an active planner and more that of a passive responder to alternative courses of action presented by the computerized system. Such a change in role has raised concerns that increased controller complacency, inattentiveness, boredom, and reduced readiness to react in emergencies may become serious problems in some of the systems being planned. A complex monitoring task was used to study the effect of complacency on attentional processes. The task was designed to approximate an automated air traffic control radar system. Sixteen experienced ATCSs were tested over a 2-hour session, with half assigned to a subject-controlled and half to a computer-controlled condition. Although the subject-controlled appeared to be generally superior to the computer-controlled condition, the differences in target detection time were not significant. Additional comparisons of ATCSs with non-ATCSs on the radar monitoring task, revealed that ATCSs were significantly superior to non-ATCSs in target detection time, number of targets detected, and rated attentiveness.