Products
Each product title is followed by a short description. Certain products can be downloaded using the link following the description.
Railroad Traffic Planner
The Railroad Traffic Planner is a computer-supported visualization tool designed to assist traffic planning at small railroads. This demonstration prototype was developed to support the Federal Railroad Administration's objective of aiding the development of improved display interfaces for railroad operations. The Railroad Traffic Planner shows the position of trains at various points in time using stringline diagrams. The stringline interface helps planners quickly locate times and places where trains will meet or overtake each other, so revisions can be made to address conflicts. An asset tracking system module can also be incorporated that displays near-real-time positions of vehicles on the railroad tracks using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
The Railroad Traffic Planner demonstration software is available here: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/hf/railroad/docs/rtp_software.zip (ZIP, 60.4 MB)
Air Traffic Control Electronic Checklist for the Design and Evaluation of New Systems
There were no human factors guidelines designed specifically to be used by air traffic controllers in their design or evaluation of new ATC systems. Volpe developed a "user friendly" check list and a supporting 600 page handbook for the controllers. The electronic version of the checklist allows controllers to tailor the checklist to suit their system requirements. Each checklist item refers the user to the portion of the text the covers the relevant issues. In addition to a wide distribution within the FAA, the Checklist and Handbook is now used by the DOD and NASA and in more than 30 countries.
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Human Factors and Operations Checklist for Standalone GPS Receivers
Stand-alone GPS systems provide many important functions, but pilots have found them difficult to use. The FAA certifies the operation and human factors interface aspects of GPS systems, but their aircraft certification specialists have lacked consistent and accessible guidance. Volpe developed a job-aid for aircraft certification specialists, in handbook format, titled Aircraft Certification Human Factors and Operations Checklist for Standalone GPS Receivers. This Job Aid is used in the US, Canada, and Australia. It promotes standardization of certification procedures among FAA certification specialists, as well as GPS receiver manufacturers.
This report can be found on the FAA's AAR-100 website by searching on the report title.
User Manual for ATC Human Factors Checklist
Air traffic control (ATC) specialists are often responsible for shaping the development and evaluation of new air traffic systems. This important task requires making many decisions about the design and operation of displays, controls, and supporting software functions. This handbook and accompanying checklist have been designed to help operations specialists address these human factors issues. This handbook provides background material on the role of human factors in the acquisition process, the capabilities and limitations of humans as information processors and the evaluation of displays and controls. It also includes discussions of issues of particular interest to air traffic control, such as the benefits and limitations of automation, and methods of workload assessment. Application of the information presented in this handbook will help to minimize the probability of human error in human-system interactions and increase the efficiency of human-system performance. These are two paramoun
t goals of the FAA's National Plan for Civil Aviation Human Factors: An Initiative for Research and Application (March, 1995). This material is provided solely for guidance and is intended to be used by ATC specialists as they see fit.
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Instrument Approach Procedure Charts
NTSB implicated cluttered and difficult-to-read approach chart design as contributing to nine aircraft accidents. Volpe, in cooperation with the aviation industry and pilot groups, developed new designs for approach charts to increase the efficiency of information transfer. Jeppesen-Sanderson plans to completely replace their current charts using the Volpe format. The ATA adopted the Volpe chart design and sixteen "part 121 air carriers" now use the new chart designs. The Air Force has adapted the new format to electronic presentation and is evaluating it for military applications.
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Automated Computer Human Interface Checklist
FAA's STARS Program Office needed a tool to evaluate and record human factors considerations for the COTS STARS "down-select." Volpe developed a PC-BASED tool, the Computer Human Interface Checklist (CEC). The CEC provides electronic references from Volpe's product, the "Human Factors in the Design and Evaluation of Air Traffic Control Systems" handbook. The CEC provides real time user entry, and records numeric scores. Using a checklist approach it automatically prepares text reports and provides textual, tabular and graphic representation of the results for use in the selection process.
Contact Mary D. Stearns - Manager, Cockpit Human Factors Program to obtain a copy. e-mail: mary.stearns@.dot.gov | Phone: 617/494-2617
NAS (National Airspace System) Infrastructure Management System (NIMS) Data Collector
Tower Data Collector
The Tower Data Collector and the NIMS Data Collector are two software tools developed at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to make it possible to collect time-sequenced task data from ambulatory subjects in an unobtrusive way.
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Air Traffic Control Integrated Database (ATCID)
The ATCID is a Microsoft Access based software tool which assembles and archives data on air traffic and controller activities compiled from completed research efforts. ATCID provides interactive access to human factors research data on controller performance in relation to environmental and task demands.
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