Driving Trust in Automation
Driving Trust in Automation
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Modernizing Operations at NASA
Modernizing Operations at NASA
In the early 2000s, the U.S. national airspace (NAS) faced a projected crisis: by 2025, air traffic demand would far exceed system capacity. Without operational transformation, delays and inefficiencies would impact millions of flights annually, driving up fuel costs, environmental strain, and operational risk.
At the same time, no clear path existed to introduce emerging technologies, such as automation, advanced cockpit displays, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into this already complex system.
THE CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE
This wasn’t just about redesigning airspace, it was about redesigning how humans interact with increasingly automated systems. To achieve any transformation, the FAA and NASA needed to deeply understand:
How pilots make decisions in high-stress environments
How trust is formed (or broken) with AI and automation
How display design impacts attention, cognition, and action
And ultimately, how technology can adapt to human limits, not the other way around. How to be human-centered.
When I joined the Flight Deck Lab at NASA Ames, we had no established simulation program. We had bold ideas, but no way to test or validate them.
MY CONTRIBUTION
MY CONTRIBUTION
Over the next 10 years, I helped build our simulation research program from the ground up. As a researcher and later project lead, I partnered with engineers, scientists, and stakeholders to:
Design and execute complex simulation experiments that evaluated future air traffic management systems.
Lead part-task and full-mission simulation studies to examine pilot workload, trust in automation, attention patterns, and interface usability.
Translate research insights into actionable feedback for engineers developing future cockpit tools.
Collaborate cross-functionally across operations, human factors, and technology teams to shape systems that worked for real people in real scenarios.
Together, we created and validated key systems that improved operations and paved the way for UAV integration.
Notably:
We developed and tested a 4D Cockpit Situation Display with visual momentum, a simplified human-centered interface now implemented on Boeing flight decks.
Our research directly supported airspace modernization initiatives including Distributed Air-Ground Operations and more.
We contributed foundational knowledge on attention management, automation acceptance, spacing algorithms, and decision-making under uncertainty through national conferences and peer-reviewed publications.
RESULTS & IMPACT
RESULTS & IMPACT
Billions in projected fuel and delay cost savings through increased airspace efficiency.
Simplified versions of Flight deck displays designed in our lab are now live on Boeing aircraft, transforming pilot awareness and coordination.
Frameworks we helped build became the foundation for drone integration into U.S. airspace.
Publications from this work continue to inform aviation, defense, and other research communities.
Publications
Publications
Human-Centered CSD
Human-Centered CSD
Granada, S., Dao, A. Q., Wong, D., Johnson, W. W., & Battiste, V. (2005). Development and Integration of a Human-Centered Volumetric Cockpit Situation Display for Distributed Air-Ground Operations. 2005 International Symposium on Aviation Psychology, 279-284. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/isap_2005/40
Procedures and Automation
Procedures and Automation
Johnson, W. W, Battiste, V. , Granada, S. , Johnson, N. H, Dao, Q. , Wong, D. , & Tang, A. B. (2005). A simulation evaluation of a human-centered approach to flight deck procedures and automation for en route free maneuvering.
Brightness Draws Attention
Brightness Draws Attention
Johnson, W. W, Liao, M. , & Granada, S. (2002). Effects of symbol brightness cueing on attention during a visual search of a cockpit display of traffic information.
Visual Search with Highlighting
Visual Search with Highlighting
Johnson, W. W, Jordan, K. , Liao, M. , & Granada, S. (2003). Sensitivity and bias in searches of cockpit display of traffic information utilizing highlighting/lowlighting.
Useful & Usable CSD
Useful & Usable CSD
Dao, Q. , Battiste, V. , Granada, S. , & Johnson, W. W. (2006). Evaluation of the usefulness and usability of cockpit situation display perspectives for ROV operations in approach civil air space.
Brightness & Visual Attention
Brightness & Visual Attention
Liao, M. , Granada, S. , & Johnson, W. W. (2005). The influence of Brightness Cueing on eye movements within a cockpit display of traffic information.
Automation Acceptance
Automation Acceptance
Battiste, V. , Johnson, W. W, Dao, Q. , Brandt, S. L, Johnson, N. H, & Granada, S. (2008). Assessment of Flight Crew Acceptance of Automated Resolution Suggestions and Manual Resolution Tools.
Decision-Making Dynamics
Decision-Making Dynamics
Comerford-Roman, D. A, Granada, S. , Johnson, W. W, Battiste, V. , Dao, Q. , & Brandt, S. L. (2009). Pilots' Weather-related Decision Making.
Get in Touch
Get in Touch
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