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REACTOR (REducing WorkloAd through EffiCient TechnOlogies and ProceduRes)

ground control station

The future expansion of the traffic volume in aviation as well as increasingly complex aviation systems lead to an increase in the workload of pilots. Within the framework of the REACTOR project, innovative technologies are to be developed which should contribute towards a reduction in both the cognitive and the physical workloads. During the course of the project, the Institute of Flight Guidance will design a ground control station (GCS) which should assist the cockpit crew in their work. The primary objective is an increase in safety in aviation.

Project description

Embedded in the European research and development program “Clean Sky 2”, the REACTOR consortium will play a leading role in the development of a next-generation cockpit. Innovative key technologies such as a voice control system in the cockpit, a visual support system (“Eye Visor”) or a GCS are to be evaluated within the framework of the project concerning their benefit. The integration of the aforementioned technologies into a provided cockpit simulator (“Active Cockpit”) as well as the safeguarding of a flawless data transmission between GCS and cockpit simulator represent thereby the significant challenges. The cooperative collaboration of the participating project partners should reinforce the visionary objective of providing a decisive contribution towards an increase in safety in air transport.

Objectives

The objective of the GCS designed by DLR within the framework of the REACTOR project is the monitoring and control of several aircraft which are simultaneously present in civil airspace. The decisive criterion in the development of a GCS is the increase in aviation safety through the support of the cockpit crew, particularly in critical flight phases. The principle characteristics of the GCS include the preparation, planning and design of an optimized trajectory, the assumption of the communication activities of the pilots with, for example, Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the automated conflict detection with other air traffic participants. The ability of the complete remote guidance of an aircraft in civil airspace through the GCS was thereby set as the objective. The continuous further development of the GCS under the aspect of designing an intuitive human-machine interface (HMI) represents one of the pending project steps. In summary, with the help of the aforementioned key technologies, concepts for future cockpit generations should be depicted.