Evaluation of CDTI Dynamic Predictor Display Technology

This study examines the value of two proposed aids for a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI): Dynamic Conflict Alerting and Dynamic Trajectory Pulse Prediction. We studied the effectiveness of these two aids in combination and individually against a control condition with neither aid to evaluate the following performance criteria: 1) whether the resolution resulted in a conflict, 2) distance at closest approach, and 3) how much the resolution cost in terms of added distance to flight plan. Results indicated that pilots have difficulty in designing successful resolutions without the Dynamic Conflict Alert aid, which tells them if the proposed resolution is clear of conflicts. The Dynamic Trajectory Pulse Predictors are helpful, but do not sufficiently raise conflict avoidance performance by themselves. When combined with Dynamic Alerting, Dynamic Trajectory Pulse Predictors enable pilots to create resolutions with an extra safety “margin” as compared to their resolutions using Dynamic Alerting alone, which are successful by a narrower margin.