ART 483

BOEING FLIGHT DECK[MCP] MODE AWARENESS

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Design Team:

Sean Douglass Visual Communication Design

Drew Hamlin Visual Communication Design

Leslie MacNeil Visual Communication Design

Yoon Sik–Kim Industrial Design

1. Project Overview

2. Research

3. Design Process a. Elements b. Input Devices c. Display

4. Final Design a. 3D Plane b. Dashboard c. Timeline / Interaction Area

5. Feedback from Final Boeing Presentation 3.12.08

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DESIGN GOAL:

Enhance mode awareness

Create a more prominent visual hierarchy

Improve pilot intervention

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T OVERVIEWOBJECTIVE:Develop a new display to provide additional feedback and improved awareness (Because everything seems to be abbreviated in a flight deck, we call this ‘WYSIWYWG’ for What You See is What You Will Get)

MODE AWARENESS:• Itisdifficultforthepilottoassesswhatthe

automation is actually doing• Modeindicationiscrucialtothepilot’s

automation awareness• Understandingwhatwillbehappeninginthenear

future can alert pilot’s of their need for intervention

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DRIVEN

Our research was driven by the need to understand the functions of the Mode Control Panel. The MCP contains seven roll modes, ninepitchmodes,andfiveautothrottlemodes,foratotalof315possible combinations.

We used different methods to conduct our research, including subject readings, analysis of a functional decomposition of autopilot mode problems and visual charting for different mode possibilities. We also examined several flight case studies to show us where problems routinely occur. The “Kill the Capture Bust” scenario is the most common of the problems result-ing from the current autopilot system. This scenario happens because the pilot obliviously disables one mode setting (Speed Capture Mode) while engaging another (Vertical Speed Mode).

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DES

IGN PROCESS

The DESIGN PROCESS was concentrated in three parts:

1. Depicting various icons that would appear in the display

2. Developing input devices that would replace those currently in the Mode Control Panel

3. Producing an animated, interactive display to inform pilot mode awareness

ICONS: Our team explored many ways to realistically display the plane along its flight path, changing pitch, rolling, and heading. We also developed an image that shows the plane’s progress as it advances towards it target altitude, and another that does the same for the speed. A thick, angulated arrow was also developed to depict the plane’s vertical speed.

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INPUT DEVICES: Originally, our concept focused on developing a new, more intuitive system for input into a redesigned Mode Control Panel. This included exploration of a variety of possible knobs,buttons,andtouch-screencombinationsandconfigurations.As our design progressed, we decided it would be best to take what we learned from our work in this area and concentrate on the design for a display.

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DISPLAY: The display became the main focus for our design as we focused on creating a device for the cockpit that would provide the pilot with both current and future feedback regarding the impact of the autopilot system on the plane’s movement. The actual display consists of three parts. A dashboard display at the top depicts altitude, speed, pitch, roll, and heading. The

center consists of an animated rendering of the plane that shows the pilot how the plane is positioned and changes as it responds to autopilot input. The display’s bottom portion is a timeline that depicts the flight path, altitude, and terrain. This section is divided into segments that are separated by waypoints. An area directly above the timeline is allocated for a listing of active and armed

modes. Our main innovation in this display was a concept that we developedfromthebeginningstagesofdesign.Initsfinalform, itallowsthepilottodragtheirfingeralongtheflightpathtovisualizewhat will occur in the future. We developed many ideations to accomplishatimelinebeforearrivingatthefinal.

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DESIGN

OurprojectvisualizesautopilotmodesfortheMCP.Thescreenisbrokendownintofourareas:TheDashboard,3DDisplay,ModeIndicationPanel,and Interactive Timeline. These areas display information about the flight.

By default, the Timeline highlights the current airplane position in the flightpath.ScrubyourfingeralongtheTimelinetoselectafuturetime in the flight. When you do this, the other areas of the screen display informationrelatedtotheselection.Liftyourfingeroffthescreentohavethe Timeline snap back to the current flight position.

The other screens display based on the Timeline selection. The Mode IndicationPanelliststhespecificmodesthattheairplaneisin.The3DDisplay shows a snapshot of the airplane’s current direction in a dimensional, realistic rendering. The Dashboard shows a detailed breakdown of different states of the airplane: Altitude, Speed, Pitch, Roll, and Heading. These show the current setting as well as the target setting if the plane is in transition.

The screen alleviates mode confusion and helps pilots understand what the airplane is currently doing and what it will be doing in the future.

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FEED

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When dealing with design in an expertise as intricate as that in a flight deck system, there will always be room for improvement. Feedback from Boeing personnel at our presentation was positive, and provided us with ideas andrefinementsforcontinuationofthedesignprocess(unfortunately, the quarter has ended…).

Color Choice: We choose the color red to draw attention to the panel that lists the active modes. Because red is generally used in a cockpit to signify warnings, a different color may be more suitable.

ModeSimplification:Wewereaskedwhetherwehadconsidered simplifying the number of possible modes. Indeed we had. We determined there is much room for trimming down the autopilot system, however, with our expertise and knowledge level, we decided it would not be a wise decision to rid the system of modes we did not see as important (we did not want to be responsible for crashing any planes).

Depiction of Active Modes: The panel we include directly above the timeline in our display depicts active and armed modes.Whenthepilotrunshisfingeralongtheflightpathinto the future, a mode list also pops up for the future highlighted segment. An idea that was presented by Boeing personnel was to include this list for all depicted segments, whether or not the pilot was scrubbing along in the future. Thisisveryvalidinputandshoulddefinitelybeconsidered.