Aircraft warning systems: application of model-based reasoning techniques
Jan Noyes, A. F. A. F., CLIVE R. FRANKISH, J. A. RANKIN · Ergonomics · 1995
The warning systems fitted to the current generation of civil air transport aircraft represent a significant advance on earlier technologies. One important outcome of this development has been the centralized alerting and monitoring systems that present information directly to pilots via multifunction displays. Despite these advances, there are still areas where substantial improvements might be made on current systems. In this paper a brief review is provided of the design issues associated with current aircraft warning systems, and the potential benefits of an 'intelligent' warning system are identified. This system would be capable of monitoring and interpreting data from aircraft systems and flight operational conditions, and in the event of failures and abnormal conditions, would provide the crew with a high-level interpretation of the malfunction. In addition, it would generate appropriate crew actions and prediction of future trends. The use of a model-based reasoning approach to this task is outlined and discussed in relation to some specific aspects of interface design.