A countermeasure for loss of situation awareness: Transitioning from the laboratory to the aircraft

Loss of situation awareness (SA) is a major contributor to aircraft mishaps. This paper describes a technological (display) countermeasure for loss of situation awareness in flight and considers its key remaining transition challenges. The display countermeasure is a tactile situation awareness system (TSAS) that provides cues concerning aircraft motion. For example, if a helicopter drifts upwards, forwards, or downwards away from its desired hover, the pilot would feel a vibrotactile pulse on top of his/her shoulders, the front of his/her torso, or beneath his/her buttocks, respectively. The key challenge remaining for the TSAS is to transition from the research laboratory science and technology (S&T) setting to routine use aboard manned aircraft, which requires extensive flight testing. We present research evidence supporting the utility of the cues provided by TSAS, the safety benefits of TSAS, and the robustness of TSAS under demanding conditions relevant to flight. However, the research setting differs greatly from the operational setting it serves. Therefore, we conclude by sharing seven practical technology transition lessons we have learned from our efforts to transition TSAS from S&T to the very different world of flight operations. We discuss how the differing procedures, standards, timelines, priorities, incentives, and expectations of scientific versus flight testing raise significant challenges to the efficient transition of new technological inventions to the aircraft. Our hope is that describing our ongoing efforts with TSAS will aid similar display technology transition efforts and provide inventors information that could foster government innovation and implementation.