A consortium of government, industry and academia is currently working to establish minimum operational performance standards for Detect and Avoid (DAA) and Control and Communications (C2) systems in order to enable broader integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). One subset of these performance standards will need to address the DAA display requirements that support an acceptable level of pilot performance. From a pilot's perspective, the DAA task is the maintenance of self separation and collision avoidance from other aircraft, utilizing the available information and controls within the Ground Control Station (GCS), including the DAA display. The pilot-in-the-loop DAA task requires the pilot to carry out three major functions: 1) detect a potential threat, 2) determine an appropriate resolution maneuver, and 3) execute that resolution maneuver via the GCS control and navigation interface(s). The purpose of the present study was to examine two main questions with respect to DAA display considerations that could impact pilots' ability to maintain well clear from other aircraft. First, what is the effect of a minimum (or basic) information display compared to an advanced information display on pilot performance? Second, what is the effect of display location on UAS pilot performance? Two levels of information level (basic, advanced) were compared across two levels of display location (standalone, integrated), for a total of four displays. The authors propose an eight-stage pilot-DAA interaction timeline from which several pilot response time metrics can be extracted. These metrics were compared across the four display conditions. The results indicate that the advanced displays had faster overall response times compared to the basic displays, however, there were no significant differences between the standalone and integrated displays. Implications of the findings on understanding pilot performance on the DAA task, the development of DAA display performance standards, as well as the need for future research are discussed.

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Nine active unmanned aircraft system (UAS) pilots were tasked with flying a simulated UAS in civil airspace and instructed to maintain safe separation (i.e., well clear) from surrounding traffic. Pilots' task of maintaining separation (referred to here as 'Detect-and-Avoid', or DAA) was facilitated by four different traffic displays, each differing in the level of maneuver guidance they presented to the pilot. Pilots were found to spend the least amount of time implementing a maneuver when provided with an integrated form of directive guidance, but were found to subjectively prefer a maneuver guidance tool that allowed them to test self-derived maneuver options and then receive feedback as to that option's predicted safety level. The results of this study are related back to previous research and to the task of identifying the minimum information requirements for UAS pilots performing the DAA task. Limitations and future research are also discussed.

In this paper, we present a framework for the integration of force feedback information in a NASA NextGen Volumetric Cockpit Situation Display (CSD). With the current CSD, the user retrieves operational information solely through visual displays and interacts with the CSD tools through using a mouse. The advanced capabilities of the CSD may require complex manipulation of information which may be difficult to perform with input devices found in today's cockpits. Performance with the CSD could benefit from a new user input device and enhanced user feedback modalities that can be operated safely, effectively, and intuitively in a cockpit environment. In this work, we investigate the addition of force feedback in two key CSD tasks: object selection and route manipulation. Different force feedback models were applied to communicate guidance commands, such as collision avoidance and target contact. We also discuss the development of a GUIbased software interface to allow the integration of a haptic device for the CSD. A preliminary user study was conducted on a testbed system using the Novint Falcon force-feedback device. A full experiment, assessing the effectiveness and usability of the feedback model in the CSD, will be performed in the next phase of our research.

Minimum display requirements and performance standards for Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems are currently being developed to safely integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the National Airspace System (NAS). The present study examines UAS pilots' subjective assessments of four display configurations with either basic or advanced levels of information presented on a standalone or integrated display. Post-trial and post-simulation questionnaires queried pilots on their subjective ability to safely perform tasks and effectively utilize available information on each display. Responses indicated that the majority of pilots considered each display to be acceptable for a pilot-in-the-loop DAA task overall, but also revealed a strong preference for an integrated display with advanced information in the form of conflict resolution tools. Implications on the development of DAA display requirements, as well as the relation between the subjective evaluations and the objective performance data from previous studies are discussed.

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1 toward its two objectives: 1) develop GCS guidelines for routine UAS access to the NAS, and 2) develop a prototype display suite within an existing Ground Control Station (GCS). The first objective directly addresses a critical barrier for UAS integration into the NAS -a lack of GCS design standards or requirements. First, the paper describes the initial development of a prototype GCS display suite and supporting simulation software capabilities. Then, three simulation experiments utilizing this simulation architecture are summarized. The first experiment sought to determine a baseline performance of UAS pilots operating in civil airspace under current instrument flight rules for manned aircraft. The second experiment examined the effect of currently employed UAS contingency procedures on Air Traffic Control (ATC) participants. The third experiment compared three GCS command and control interfaces on UAS pilot response times in compliance with ATC clearances. The authors discuss how the results of these and future simulation and flight-testing activities contribute to the development of GCS guidelines to support the safe integration of UAS into the NAS. Finally, the planned activities for Phase 2, including an integrated human-in-the-loop simulation and two flight tests are briefly described.