Experimental Evaluation of the Human Performance on a RoboticFlight Simulator based on FOQA Parameters

• The SIVOR project, currently being developed by ITA and Embraer, consists of designing andimplementing a high fidelity flight simulator based on the use of COTS industrial robots. The aim of theproject is to provide a cost-efficient and flexible platform that can be used along the design phases of theaircraft. One of the advantages of an industrial robot over the traditional Stewart platform is theavailability of a large workspace, which provides more flexibility for defining the washout filter. Thisfilter converts the aircraft dynamics into robot movements, which has a limited workspace. The mainpurpose of the flight simulator is to provide a motion feeling similar to the one imposed by the aircraftmovements in a real flight. The representativeness of the motion cue is usually evaluated in a qualitativeway by the pilots that fly the simulator. Quantitative methods to evaluate the entire range of actuation of asimulator are complex, inducing tests in fractions of the flight to increase performance. In this work, wediscuss the use of FOQA (Flight Operational Quality Assurance) as an additional quantitative tool for theevaluation of the motion cue in the SIVOR flight simulator. FOQA is a voluntary safety program fromFAA, detailed in AC-120-82. It proposes a set of parameters that can be used by airliners to analyse flightsafety and increase operational efficiency. The verification of FOQA parameters checks whether or notthe pilot complies with the standard operational procedures defined by the airliners and aircraftmanufacturers. The purpose of this work is to analyse whether or not, and to what extent, the FOQAparameters can be used to evaluate the quality of the motion cue of flight simulators. For this purpose, wedefine an experimental procedure that compares flights performed by pilots under different motionmodes. It then calculates a set of behavioural parameters that has been proposed in order to quantify howthe motion affects the inputs of the pilot. The results are submitted to ANOVA statistical analysis thatverifies the relevance of the motion factor. Finally, we discuss the capability of a FOQA basedexperiment to estimate the contribution of the motion to the realism of the flight simulation.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Rymd- och flygteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Aerospace Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Flight Operational Quality Assurance

Human performance

Flight simulator

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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