Marinus M. Van Paassen

• PhD Aerospace Engineering, Associate Professor
• Professor (Associate) at Delft University of Technology

We investigated the effect of personality traits and flight experience on pilot cognitive and affective responses across seven startling and surprising scenarios performed in motion-based simulators. A dataset of 89 airline pilots from four studies was used. The personality traits measured were trait anxiety, decision-related action orientation (AO...

Automated vehicles could increase the risk of motion sickness because occupants are not involved in driving and do not watch the road. this paper aimed to investigate the influence of motion predictability on motion sickness in automated vehicles, as better motion anticipation is believed to mitigate motion sickness. in a simulator-based study, twe...

Flight deck procedures sometimes show imperfections, and even safety related issues, on the work floor, that may persist for decades without being corrected. To understand why there is no good mechanism to improve flight deck procedures, an analysis of organizational safety is made using the work floor perspective. This analysis shows barriers to i...

Understanding human perception of haptic feedback is critical when designing and regulating these interfaces. In recent years, experiments have been conducted to determine the just-noticeable difference (JND) in mass–spring–damper dynamics, using a hydraulic admittance display in the form of a side-stick. These experiments have resulted in a model...

Automated vehicles could increase the risk of motion sickness because occupants are not involved in driving and do not watch the road. This paper aimed to investigate the influence of motion predictability on motion sickness in automated vehicles, as better motion anticipation is believed to mitigate motion sickness. In a simulator-based study, twe...

Automation errors may result in human performance issues that are often difficult to grasp. Skraaning and Jamieson (2023) proposed a taxonomy for classifying automation errors into categories based on the visible symptoms of design problems, so as to benefit the design of training scenarios. In this paper, we propose a complementary classification...

Previous research indicated a need to improve pilot training with regard to understanding of autopilot logic and behavior, especially in non-routine situations. Therefore, we tested the effect of problem-based exploratory training on pilots’ understanding of autopilot functions. Using a moving-base flight simulator, general aviation pilots (n = 45)...

Haptic cues on the side stick are a promising method to reduce loss of control in-flight incidents. They can be intuitively interpreted and provide immediate support, leading to a shared control system. However, haptic interfaces are limited in providing information, and the reason for cues may not always be clear to pilots. This study presents the...

In academic air traffic control research, traffic scenarios are often repeated to increase the sample size and enable paired-sample comparisons, e.g., between different display variants. This comes with the risk that participants recognize scenarios and consequently recall the desired response. In this paper we provide an overview of mitigation tec...

To alleviate the workload of air traffic controllers, part of the air traffic may be handled by a future automated system. When deciding which flights to delegate, a distinction can be made between basic and non-basic flights, with the former being prime candidates for delegation. The human controller can then focus on the non-basic flights, where...

Background. Previous studies and accident analyses have shown that pilots can make roll reversal errors when responding to bank angles shown by the artificial horizon in the Primary Flight Display (PFD). In the current study, we tested whether adding stereoscopic depth cues to the artificial horizon may lead to better bank angle representation due...

Background. Mnemonic procedures are currently being taught to airline pilots to manage startle and surprise. We previously tested the effectiveness of a four-item mnemonic. Pilots generally rated it as useful but some remarked that it induced too much additional workload. Therefore, we tested whether a simpler mnemonic, Aviate-Breathe-Check, would...

Expert participants may not always be available for evaluation of new displays or support systems, and in some cases, it might be better to use novice participants, particularly when the display or support significantly changes existing work practices. To provide tools and arguments for selecting the expertise level of participants, we propose the...

This paper considers the combined effect of two trends in commercial aviation. On the one hand, there is a continuing demand for pilots, implying that a new generation of pilots, will soon be flying our aircraft. On the other hand, legal aspects have had an adverse effect on innovation in the safety level of established procedures, leading to a tre...

Accurate process control through automation is the key to achieving efficient and stable operation of a blast furnace. In this study, we developed an automatic control system of hot metal temperature (HMT). To cope with the slow and complex process dynamics of the blast furnace, we constructed a control algorithm that predicts eight-hour-ahead HMT...

Air traffic controller workload is a limiting factor in the current air traffic management system. Adaptive support systems have the potential to balance controller workload and gain acceptance as they provide support during times of need. Challenges in the design of adaptive support systems are to decide when and how to trigger support. The goal o...

In the quest for more efficient air traffic management, a common approach is to allocate an increasing amount of functionality to higher levels of automation, with a supervisory role for humans. This potentially leads to forthcoming issues such as skill degradation and out-of-the-loop phenomenon. If the traffic in an airspace is instead shared betw...

Without intervention the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles could be compromised by an increased incidence of motion sickness compared to conventional cars. To investigate whether passengers’ motion sickness can be reduced by manipulating an autonomous vehicle's accelerations on a fixed route without altering the travel time, a human-out-of...

Cyberneticists develop mathematical human control models which are used to tune manual control systems and understand human performance limits. Neuroscientists explore the physiology and circuitry of the central nervous system to understand how the brain works. Both research human visuomotor control tasks, such as the pursuit tracking task. In this...

Mathematical human control models are widely used in tuning manual control systems and understanding human performance. Human behavior is commonly described using linear time-invariant models, averaging-out all non-linear and time-varying effects, which are gathered into the remnant. These models are limited in their capability to capture particula...

To achieve the automation of blast furnace operation, an automatic control system for hot metal temperature (HMT) was developed. Nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) which predicts up to ten-hour-ahead HMT and calculates appropriate control actions of pulverized coal rate (PCR) was constructed. Simulation validation showed that the NMPC algori...

When coupled with additional degrees of freedom, centrifuge-based motion platforms can combine the agility of hexapod-based platforms with the ability to sustain higher G-levels and an extended motion space, required for simulating extreme maneuvers. However, the false and often nauseating sensations of rotation, by Coriolis effects induced by the...

Current aircraft flight deck interfaces do not provide information on how a performance-altering failure constrains an aircraft’s flight envelope. As a result, it is difficult for flight crews to plan maneuvers in order to reach navigation targets. This study presents the results of the conceptual development of constraint-based interface symbology...

Allocation is a challenge for higher levels of automation in air traffic control, where flights can be dynamically assigned to either a human or an automated agent. Through an exploratory experiment with six professional air traffic controllers, insight was gained into the possibilities and challenges of human-automation teamwork in an en-route env...

In the analysis of human performance and human error, considerable attention is given to the cognitive processes of actors involved in error or success scenarios. Even with awareness of hindsight bias, it takes effort to understand the actions of agents in later inspection of error scenarios. One such topic of heated discussion was the perceived po...

Eigenmode distortion is a novel quantitative methodology developed to objectively evaluate motion cueing fidelity in flight simulation. It relies on an explicit coupling of linearized vehicle and Motion Cueing Algorithm dynamics. Modal analysis subsequently performed on this coupled system reveals the degree of distortion imposed by the Motion Cuei...

Modern aircraft can be equipped with a flight envelope protection system: automation which modifies pilot control inputs to ensure that the aircraft remains within the allowable limits. Overruling the pilot inputs may lead to mode confusion, even when visual or auditory feedback is provided to alert pilots. We advocate using active control devices...

In-flight non-normal events can be rather taxing for a flight crew. Numerous tasks, often competing for attention, need to be handled adequately after which, the best plan of action for the remainder of the flight needs to be determined. In the light of recent developments towards reduced crew operations, the demand for reducing workload has become...

Non-normal event resolution in-flight can be challenging on the flight crew with increased time pressure, workload, stress. Other competing tasks impose a risk on flight safety and burdens the decision-making process. Pilots rely on checklists to aid in their effort, which in its state-of-the-art form are presented on the dedicated Electronic Check...

Ground-based demonstration of spatial disorientation (SD) has been recommended for military as well as commercial pilot training. Although the leans illusion is the most common form of SD, no data exist yet of an effective ground-based leans procedure for a hexapod simulator. In this paper we describe the development of such a procedure and its tun...

Modern aircraft use a variety of fly-by-wire control devices and combine these with a flight envelope protection system to limit pilot control inputs when approaching the aircraft limits. The current research project aims to increase pilot awareness of such a protection system through the use of force feedback on the control device, i.e., haptics....

Objective. We tested whether a procedure in a hexapod simulator can cause incorrect assumptions of the bank angle (i.e., the “leans”) in airline pilots as well as incorrect interpretations of the attitude indicator (AI). Background. The effect of the leans on interpretation errors has previously been demonstrated in nonpilots. In-flight, incorrect...

Air traffic controller workload is considered to be a limiting factor for further air traffic growth. To reduce workload, increased automation levels and novel decision-support tools are being investigated. This Paper describes the adaptation and evaluation of a previously developed interface, called the Solution Space Diagram, in a route merging t...

Humans can rapidly change their low-frequency arm dynamics to resist forces or give way to them. Quantifying driver time-varying arm dynamics is important to develop steer-by-wire and haptic support systems. Conventional linear time-invariant (LTI) identification, and even time-varying techniques such as wavelets, fail to capture fast changing dyna...

Background Mnemonic-type startle and surprise procedures were previously proposed to help pilots cope with startle and surprise in-flight, but effects on performance after procedure execution have not yet been investigated. Objective Thus, we tested the effectiveness a new mnemonic-type procedure in a moving-base simulator with a non-linear model...

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of augmented feedback on participants’ workload, performance, and distribution of visual attention. Background An important question in human–machine interface design is whether the operator should be provided with direct solutions. We focused on the solution space diagram (SSD), a type...

Limitations of a haptic device can cause distortions of the force feedback it presents. Just-noticeable difference (JND) in system dynamics is important for creating transparent haptic interaction. Based on the previous work, this paper presents a unified model that extends the existing JND rule. Our approach projects the JNDs in the mechanical pro...

Several modern aircraft use a passive control manipulator: a spring–damper system that generates command signals to the flight control computers in combination with a flight envelope protection system that limits pilot inputs when approaching the aircraft limits. This research project aims to increase pilot awareness of this protection system throu...

Previous studies show that pilots sometimes make roll reversal errors (RREs) when responding to the aircraft bank angle shown on the attitude indicator (AI). This is suggestive of a perceptual ambiguity in the AI. In the current study, we investigated whether expectation contributes to such misperception. Twenty nonpilots performed tasks in a fixed...

This paper describes the design and evaluation of a visual display in supplementing haptic feedback on the side stick as a way to communicate flight envelope boundaries to pilots. The design adds indications for the limits in airspeed, load factor, angle of attack and angle of bank to a standard Airbus primary flight display (PFD). The indications...

The 1960s crossover model is widely applied to quantitatively predict a human controller’s (HC’s) manual control behavior. Unfortunately, the theory captures only compensatory tracking behavior and, as such, a limited range of real-world manual control tasks. This article finalizes recent advances in manual control theory toward more general pursui...

Novel driver support systems potentially enhance road safety by cooperating with the human driver. To optimize the design of emerging steering support systems, a profound understanding of driver steering behavior is required. This article proposes a new theory of driver steering, which unifies visual perception and control models. The theory is der...

The purpose of human-machine systems design is to develop interfaces and automation tools which support human operators in performing effective, efficient and safe work. An important prerequisite for the latter is that operators understand the process under control, are aware of what is happening, and have sufficient means to act on the process app...

Objective. To investigate the effect of augmented feedback on participants' workload, performance, and distribution of visual attention. Background. An important question in human-machine interface design is whether the operator should be provided with direct solutions. We focused on the solution space diagram (SSD), a type of augmented feedback wh...

We hypothesized that an incorrect expectation due to spatial disorientation may induce roll reversal errors. To test this, an in-flight experiment was performed in which forty non-pilots rolled wings level after receiving motion cues. A No-leans condition (subthreshold motion to a bank angle) was included, as well as a Leans-opposite condition (lea...

Objective Use Fitts’ law to compare accuracy and throughput of three flight deck interfaces for navigation. Background Industry is proposing touch-based solutions to modernize the flight management system. However, research evaluating touchscreen effectiveness for navigation tasks in terms of accuracy and throughput on the flight deck is lacking....

The current evolution of the ATM system, led by the SESAR programme in Europe and the NextGen programme in the US, is foreseen to bring a paradigm shift to the work of the air traffic controller. Rather than the current primarily tactical control method, one aims for the introduction of more strategic, 4D (space and time) trajectory management. In...

In many work domains, the push toward higher levels of automation raises the concern of diminishing human expertise. Ecological interfaces could help operators in retaining and potentially even in acquiring expertise as they are hypothesized to lead to a deeper understanding of the work domain. This study explores the short-term impact of ecologica...

Reducing high workload levels are a major challenge to enable single pilot operations. Where the pilot is currently supported with many automated systems, the role of mission planner is relatively unsupported, i.e., the flight crew is required to integrate and combine information from various sources to extract the implications on the missions’ hig...

The glass cockpit and EFB enable new ways of information presentation and interaction on the flight deck of modern commercial jets. This information supports crews in flight plan management, which essentially entails evaluating the plan against (ever-changing) flight constraints and, if necessary, modifying it. Flight constraints emerge from the in...

Time delays in haptic teleoperation affect the ability of human operators to assess mechanical properties (damping, mass, and stiffness) of the remote environment. To address this, we propose a unified framework for human haptic perception of the mechanical properties of environments with delayed force feedback. In a first experiment, we found that...

Most haptic interfaces developed for aircraft control provide haptic support as an additional force on the control manipulator. This study revisits the active manipulator, a design concept that is different from but complementary to existing haptic interfaces. This control device sends the force that the pilot exerts on it to the aircraft while fee...

Vehicle control tasks require simultaneous control of multiple degrees-of-freedom. Most multi-axis human-control modeling is limited to the modeling of multiple fully independent single axes. This paper contributes to the understanding of multi-axis control behavior and draws a more realistic and complete picture of dual-axis manual control. A huma...

This study revisits the active manipulator developed for manual aircraft control. The active manipulator sends the force applied by the pilot to the aircraft while feeding back the aircraft rotational velocity by means of its deflection angle. We find that the active manipulator, in comparison with the conventional passive manipulator, greatly faci...

When coupled with additional degrees of freedom, centrifuge-based motion platforms can combine the agility of an hexapod-based motion platform with the ability of sustaining higher G- levels and an extended motion space. This combination of motion characteristics is required for realistic simulation of extreme flight scenarios. However, a false and...

Mathematical control models are widely used in tuning manual control systems and understanding human performance. The most common model, the crossover model, is severely limited, however, in describing realistic human control behaviour in relevant control tasks as it is only valid for tracking with a compensatory display. This paper first discusses...

The understanding of human responses to visual information in car driving tasks requires the use of system identification tools that put constraints on the design of data collection experiments. Most importantly, multisine perturbation signals are required, including a multisine road geometry, to separately identify the different driver steering re...

Air traffic controller workload is a bottleneck on air traffic growth, warranting automation solutions. This paper discusses the effect of transparency on the acceptance of resolution advisories generated by an adaptive automation tool. Two transparency types were tested in a between-subjects experiment (n = 16). The first group worked with a displ...

Designing interfaces for effective decision-making supports for complex, dynamic systems is a challenging task. Besides the already challenging task of determining the visual form, the task of defining the content of these supports can be even more demanding. Especially for an unstable and complex work domain with multiple stakeholders and multiple...

Real-time optimization of Vehicle Routing Problems (VRP) during mission operations raises concerns regarding obtaining a solution within a reasonable timeframe, especially in domains where operations cannot easily be paused and the number of control parameters is high. Humans, however, are heuristic problem solvers and could potentially complement...

Haptic displays can greatly facilitate manual control tasks. Their capacity of allowing the operator to perceive the desired dynamics is an important design parameter. However, attempts to evaluate haptic displays on the basis of what dynamics humans actually perceive are scarce. This paper proposes a two-step framework which incorporates the chara...

This paper describes a novel method for time-varying identification of Human Controller (HC) manual control parameters (called UKF-FPV), based on a steady-state (constant state covariance) Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). This approach requires no a priori assumptions on the shape of HC parameter variations, which is a potential advantage over state-...

Air Traffic Control (ATC) workload is a limiting factor for air traffic growth, creating a need for objective ATC workload metrics. Previous research has shown that the solution space diagram can be a basis for a workload prediction metric. The current solution space metric however, does not incorporate altitude. In this paper, a 3D solution space...

Human modelling approaches are typically limited to feedback-only, compensatory tracking tasks. Advances in system identification techniques allow us to consider more realistic tasks that involve feedforward and even precognitive control. In this paper we study the human development of a feedforward control response while learning to accurately fol...

Time-varying pilot control identification is essential for better understanding of how pilots respond when faced with sudden changes in the dynamics of the vehicle they control, such as when automatic control and stabilization systems disengage or undergo a mode transition. This paper presents the results of a human-in-the-loop experiment performed...

Just notable difference (JND) thresholds for the perception of manipulator dynamic properties are relevant for tele-operation and simulation of vehicles. Manipulator dynamic properties are characterized by multiple variables (describing mass, spring and damping for a linear manipulator) and the JND threshold for any of these variables is affected b...

Wave-variable transformation is a means to maintain stability of haptic teleoperation in the presence of communication time delays. Its drawback is that it affects haptic perception of remote properties and thereby degrades transparency. This paper studies the effect of wave-variable transformation on human haptic perception. Based on a framework o...

When drivers have opposing intentions to a haptic shared controller which, like the driver, can continuously control the vehicle through torques on the steering wheel, the driver has to fight against the controller torque to reach their goal. This phenomenon is called haptic shared control (steering) conflicts and are a reason for drivers to reject...