21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-6.3.4

HUMAN FACTORS ASPECTS OF REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT

Anderson S. B.
NASA Ames Research Center, USA

Keywords: human factors, remotely piloted aircraft

Use of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) has expanded rapidly, driven by the need to improve utility for airborne vehicles in both civil and military sectors. These vehicles are operated similar to conventional aircraft except that a ground stationed pilot provides flight path control through auxiliary sensory channels onboard the aircraft. Recent experience in operating these vehicles has highlighted a need to better understand human factor interfaces to provide safe control throughout the flight envelope. Results from current RPA operation indicate a reduced capability to provide completely satisfactory control since the information content to provide accurate operator feedback can be degraded by using intermediary channels. The purpose of this paper is to highlight certain aspects of RPA operation to provide a clearer understanding of the human systems interface needed to improve safety and utility under remote control conditions. Of the various sensory cues available to the pilot, visual factors either from onboard instrumentation or by a video down link are most important to avoid loss of control.

view full paper