Sub-Task 3-2. Hazardous States of Awareness

---

Progress  |  References  |  For more information

The Hazardous States of Awareness subprogram is conducted by the Crew Hazards and Error Management Team in the Crew / Vehicle Integration Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia.

Background

The Hazardous States of Awareness subelement develops and validates human response measurement technologies for assessing human attention and awareness hazards. Detection and prediction of error-related states can lead to improved designs, better training, and countermeasures and can be used to validate the effectiveness of each of these.

These activities are in support of the goal of the Critical Technologies Program of the NASA Implementation Plan for the National Plan for Civil Aviation Human Factors (p. 34), and Recommendations SA-8 and SA-9 of the FAA Human Factors Team Report on The Interfaces between Flightcrews and Modern Flight Deck Systems.

Practical significance of problems of Hazardous States of Awareness has been documented through content analysis of Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) reports.

Objectives

The objective of this sub-element include 1) Development and validation of methods and techniques for identifying hazardous states of awareness in automated-systems, and 2) the exploitation of opportunities to demonstrate dual-use applications of methods, techniques and principles in fields within aeronautics as well as beyond, such as in process control and medicine.

Hazardous States of Awareness include, but are not limited to, the following categories:

Approach

The approach taken includes establishing basic concepts and theories, developing and validating new concepts in collaboration with university researchers, proving innovative techniques through analysis, simulation, and laboratory testing, and, ultimately, demonstration of the most promising concepts in operational environment tests.

Technology transfer mechanisms include demonstrations of methodological innovations to industry and media at NASA and at technology transfer expositions, through MOA (memoranda of agreement), and contributions to transfer publications and databases. Metrics include number of requests from customers and partners in aerospace and non-aerospace industries for our technology, and number of actual uses by customers.

Milestone:

FY98 Demonstrate crew engagement assessment technology.
FY99 Evaluate adaptive task allocation design options for reduced automation-related complacency.
FY00 Complete review of psychophysiological approaches to adaptive interface control.
FY01 Demonstrate adaptive task allocation design options that influence automation-related complacency.

Current Focus

• Revise Taxonomy of Hazardous States of Awareness (HSA)
• Examine new HSA Candidate Measurement Techniques
• Examine new psychophysiological correlates of psychological constructs, such as situational awareness and shared problem models
• Application of novel information theory-based signal processing methods to physiological signals (focus on EEG)
• Application of non-linear dynamic methods to physiological signal processing

Partners

• NASA Ames Research Center
• Old Dominion University
• Pennsylvania State University
• College of William and Mary
• University of Florida
• Wright Patterson AFB

Point of Contact

 Lance Prinzel, Ph.D. ( l.j.prinzel@larc.nasa.gov )

757-864-2277
757-864-8858 (FAX)

Crew / Vehicle Integration Branch
MS-152
NASA Langley Research Center
Hampton, VA 23681-2199