ASTM International’s unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) committee (F38) is developing a standard establishing minimum human factors requirements for designing ground control stations, according to organization officials.
The human factors discipline evaluates how end users interact with their systems to improve operational efficiency and safety. The primary focus of the proposed standard (WK90326) centers on how remote pilots in command (RPICs) interact with unmanned systems through ground control interfaces.
“We are looking to ensure the user interfaces, use of color, alerts, display formatting, controls, RPIC performance, including situation awareness and workload, are all considered and designed in accordance with the various standards and resources available today,” said ASTM member Scott Scheff.
According to Scheff, human factors standards for control stations have historically been spread across multiple documents. While larger organizations working with the FAA often manage these guidelines effectively, smaller developers frequently face challenges locating and interpreting the requirements.
“The proposed standard will be designed to help manufacturers understand not only what good human factors are, but how best to incorporate human factors into their ground control station designs,” Scheff said.
Once finalized, the standard will serve as a single comprehensive reference document outlining the necessary design requirements for UAS ground control systems.
For more information: ASTM.org
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