Auditory and visual messages Essays

Auditory and visual messages Essays Auditory and visual messages Essay Auditory and visual messages Essay Critics are always highlighting the fact that air traffic controllers use 1960s vintage equipment. One of the said critics provided an illustration as to how problems are exacerbated by the antiquated design of the system and he wrote, Though his radar is two-dimensional, the controller must envision the planes’ flight paths in three dimensions †¦ He must take into account that, say, one plane is turning sharply and rapidly descending while the other is slowly climbing †¦ he’ll quickly get on his radio to instruct one of the pilots †¦ only if his message isn’t garbled or drowned out or misunderstood will an accident be averted (Leslie, 1996).But in the 1990s much has been done to prevent this frightening possibility from ever occurring. It is a good thing that improved aircraft technology, has now made it possible to fly with precision. The pilots can work with computers to input any desired path from one point to another in the continental United States †¦ and to optimize for whatever criteria are desired – distance, time, fuel consumption, and so forth (Remington et al., 2000).In this way pilots can have more freedom and more authority to navigate constricted airspaces and position their aircraft to achieve time-efficient schedules while at the same time preventing accidents from happening. Aside from the ability to optimize flight patterns a free flight system eliminates potential errors coming from auditory messages – the typical means of communication between traffic controllers and pilots.This is illustrated below: It must also be made clear that air traffic controllers are not only responsible for positioning aircrafts and guiding pilots on where to go especially if the volume of traffic re aches a critical point. Air traffic controllers are also responsible in guiding pilots if an emergency arises. There are so many things that can go wrong in an airports.The arrival and departure of airplanes require the skill and dedication of experienced air traffic controllers who are knowledgeable not only on how to direct and guide pilots but they are also aware about other relevant information that can help in an emergency but may be non-essential for a pilot whose main goal is to land and fly the airplane in the most efficient manner. Thus, air traffic controllers are knowledgeable about the following information but there is no guarantee that pilots are aware of the same: Traffic volume and flow;Types of aircraft operating within the sector; Location and activity of nearby terminal facilities; Special operations and procedures (e. g. military operations); Equipment limitations; and Radar and radio coverage (Durso et al. , 2004). Free Flight In the worlds of experts, One proposed change to the national airspace system, designed to increase its capacity, involves allocating more authority over flight path selection to the individual pilot. This proposed increase in pilot authority has been termed free flight or use-preferred routing (Wickens, Helleberg, Xu, 2002).As mentioned earlier not only are air traffic controllers overburdened by an increasing workload, their equipment are also limited to two dimensional displays while pilots had a much better vantage point when it comes to observing the world outside their cockpits. In short if pilots are given access to technology that will allow them to be aware of nearby airplanes as well as the trajectories open for them, they are in a better position to decide what to do with their aircraft while approaching to land.One example of a technology that can initiate the transition from antiquated air traffic management systems to free flight is an equipment called Cock pit display of traffic information or (CDTI) and data link communications system. According to those who are knowledgeable about this system, One function of CDTI will be to help pilots understand where traffic outside can be spotted and thus aid them I calling out traffic in sight’ by replacing traditional role of ATC I guiding attention through oral instructions (e.g. watch for traffic, 10:00 high, 2 miles out). In the case of the data link, the intention is to provide a visual text version of instructions (e. g. climb to flight level 220). (Wickens Goh, 2003). Figure 1, is one of the best illustration that can help explain the weakness of the traditional system of communication when there is an over reliance on auditory messages. Fig. 2. CDTI can be seen on the black display on the left while the data link messages can be seen in the white rectangle just above CDTI.(Source: Wickens Goh, 2003) Problems Encountered While there is great promise to the use of free flight sys tems there are those who have reservations to quickly adopting the new method of air traffic management. For one, This alteration could have major implications for a single-pilot aircraft, in which visual attention is already heavily burdened by responsibilities of instrument-panel scanning and outside-world world monitoring (Wickens Goh, 2003).There are planes that have only one pilot and the technological advances such as the one described in the preceding pages may overwhelm the solitary pilot. But there is one more problem associated with free flight. Even with the use present day aircraft design and instrument panels a pilot is already overburdened by the need to pay careful attention to the details of the flight. Thus, †¦changing from auditory to visual communication in an already very busy visual environment (Wickens Goh, 2003), can be a tough challenge.