Abstract. A head-worn display combined with accurate head-tracking allows one to show synthetically generated symbols in a way that they appear as a part of the real world. Depending on the specific research context, different terms have been used for the ability to show display elements as parts of the outside world. These include contact analog, scene linked, augmented reality, and outside conformal. While the famous highway in the sky was one of the first applications in avionics, over the years more and more conformal counterparts have been devised for aircraft-related instruments. Among them are routing information, navigation aids, specialized landing displays, obstacle warnings, drift indicators, and many more. Conformal displays have been developed for more than 40 years. We present a review of some results, as well as look ahead to research trends for the next years. We suggest that naturalism is not the best choice for the design of conformal displays. Instead, more abstract representations often yield better pilot acceptance.
Urban air mobility is a rapidly growing field of research. While drones or unmanned aerial vehicles have been operated mainly in the private and military sector in the past, an increasing range of opportunities is opening up for commercial applications. A new multitude of passenger-carrying drone or air taxi concepts promises to fulfill the dream of flying above congested urban areas. While early research has been focusing on vehicle development, solutions for urban air traffic management are lagging behind. This paper collects and reviews the main findings of past urban-air-mobility-related research projects at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to serve as a basis for ongoing research from an air traffic management perspective.
Helicopter point-in-space instrument procedures are key to enabling simultaneous noninterfering procedures and enhancing all-weather access in dense airspace and remote locations. This paper describes the flight evaluation of navigation and human performance in helicopter curved point-in-space procedures as part of Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research. An experimental procedure was designed at Donauwörth heliport including radius-to-fix legs with descent gradients and airspeed variations in the terminal segments, followed by a steep, straight-in final approach segment. Two strategies were evaluated for vertical descent profiles: fixed flight path angle, and fixed vertical speed. Three test pilots were instructed to execute the entire approach until the missed approach point in simulated instrument meteorological conditions using advanced autopilot modes and head-down flight and navigation displays. Navigation performance was measured using cross-track and vertical-track deviations. Pilot workload and situational awareness were measured using the task load index and the situational awareness rating technique, respectively. The results showed that flight paths were maintained within the required navigation performance limits despite strong crosswinds, and the final approach glidepath was successfully captured in all cases. All pilots reported low workload, adequate spare capacity, and high situational awareness in all cases. Furthermore, the fixed flight path angle descent was found to induce lower workload and required fewer crew actions compared with the fixed vertical speed descent. Owing to the small sample size, conclusions with statistical significance cannot be established.
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