Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast/Cockpit Display of Traffic Information: Innovations in Aircraft Navigation on the Airport Surface

Prinzo, O. Veronika · 2004 · ROSA P / United States. Office of Aerospace Medicine

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Summary

This study evaluates the impact of Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) surface map displays on pilot situational awareness and communication workload during airport surface operations. Motivated by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) efforts to reduce runway incursions—a critical safety issue highlighted by the National Transportation Safety Board—the research aimed to determine how electronic surface maps (north-up and track-up orientations) compared to traditional paper charts aided pilots in navigating complex taxi routes. The evaluation was part of the Safe Flight 21 Program’s operational demonstration of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology at Standiford International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, in October 2000. The experimental design involved 25 pilot volunteers flying 16 aircraft across five flight periods, including both day and night operations. Pilots navigated either "structured" taxi routes (complex, pre-defined routes provided via textual cards) or "unstructured" routes (standard verbal instructions from air traffic control). Aircraft were assigned to one of three map groups: Paper-Chart (no map overlay), North-up (static north-oriented map), or Track-up (vector-based moving map oriented to aircraft heading). Data were collected from 15 hours of digitized voice communications between pilots and ground controllers. Subject-matter experts analyzed transcripts to measure communication workload (number of messages, frequency occupancy time, time under ground control) and operational issues, categorized as "problems" (e.g., misunderstandings, reception errors) and "operational concerns" (e.g., spatial awareness issues like being lost or off-route). Results indicated that structured taxi routes generated significantly higher communication workload and more operational problems than unstructured routes. A statistically significant interaction between route type and map type revealed that pilots using the north-up electronic map during structured routes experienced the highest number of problems and operational concerns. Specifically, 100% of structured taxi routes in the north-up group contained problems, compared to only 21% of their unstructured routes. In contrast, problem rates for paper-chart and track-up groups were comparable between structured and unstructured routes. Pilots in the north-up group also exchanged twice as many messages and spent nearly twice as long communicating during structured routes compared to unstructured ones, and significantly more time than those in the track-up or paper-chart groups. Approximately 75% of operational concerns involved spatial awareness issues, such as missed turns or aircraft being off-route. The findings suggest that north-up electronic surface maps create more navigation difficulties than track-up maps or paper charts, particularly when taxi routes are complex or unfamiliar. The study concludes that the orientation of the map display significantly influences pilot situational awareness and communication efficiency. These results provide critical guidance for the design of CDTI systems, indicating that track-up or dynamic map orientations may better support pilot navigation and reduce the risk of runway incursions by lowering communication workload and spatial confusion during surface operations.

Key finding

Pilots using north-up electronic surface maps encountered significantly more communication problems and workload during structured taxi routes compared to those using track-up maps or paper charts.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 25

Provenance

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

Topics

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• situation awareness theory