Evaluation of a New Color Palette for ATC Displays

Gildea, Kevin; Willems, Ben; Benincasa, Seve; Jack, Dan G.; Post, David L. · 2020 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

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Summary

This paper evaluates the implementation of a new color palette for Air Traffic Control (ATC) displays, designed to accommodate controllers with color vision deficiencies while maintaining safety for those with normal vision. The research was motivated by the need to transition operational systems, specifically En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) and Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS), to comply with the FAA HF-STD-010 standard. The study aimed to identify potential difficulties in applying this palette to complex, dynamic operational environments and to develop strategies for transitioning legacy systems. The research comprised two studies. Study 1 analyzed recognition accuracy for the "Red" color specified in the original HF-STD-010 standard, which controllers found overly pink and lacking urgency. Using the Palette Evaluation Tool (PET) and Air Traffic Color Vision (ATCOV) assessment data, the authors compared the standard Red against Reds currently used in ARTS/STARS, Ocean21, and ERAM systems. Study 2 utilized the DESIREE simulator to demonstrate the new palette in dynamic ERAM and STARS environments. Researchers applied a simple one-for-one mapping technique for critical information and developed specific mappings for weather severity codes, including the use of black stippling in STARS to improve contrast. Participants included terminal controllers and FAA staff who reviewed static mockups and simulator demonstrations. Study 1 found that color-deficient controllers performed no better with the original standard Red than with the operational Reds, while color-normal controllers achieved near-perfect recognition across all variants. Consequently, the authors recommended replacing the original standard Red with the ARTS/STARS Red, a change incorporated into the updated HF-STD-010A (2020) standard. Study 2 results indicated that controllers accepted the new palette and weather depictions, noting improved legibility due to higher foreground-to-background contrast. Participants confirmed that reducing contrast ratios below the mandated 3:1 minimum impaired legibility, validating the standard’s requirements. No significant objections or implementation difficulties were reported. The findings support the adoption of the revised color palette for ERAM and STARS systems, suggesting that simple color mapping is an effective transition strategy. The study highlights the importance of accurate color rendering, recommending that the FAA develop guidelines for testing display conformance to the IEC sRGB standard to ensure consistent color reproduction across hardware. The authors also recommend further research to optimize weather texture coding for STARS and a larger-scale simulation study to identify any latent implementation issues before full field deployment.

Key finding

The original HF-STD-010 standard Red was revised to match the ARTS/STARS Red because color-normal controllers found the original too pink and less urgent, while color-deficient controllers showed no significant difference in recognition accuracy between the two reds.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Sample size: 145

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

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