Evaluation of conflict-resolution policies on controller taskload

In an effort to maintain safety while satisfying growing air traffic demand, air navigation service providers are considering the inclusion of advisory systems to identify potential conflicts and propose resolution commands for the air traffic controller to verify and issue to aircraft. To understand the potential workload implications of introducing advisory conflict-detection and resolution tools, this paper examines a metric of controller taskload: how many resolution commands an air traffic controller issues under the guidance of an advisory system. Through a simulation study, the research presented here evaluates how the underlying protocol of a conflict-resolution tool affects the controller taskload (system demands) associated with the conflict-resolution process, and implicitly the controller workload (physical and psychological demands). Ultimately, evidence indicates that there is significant flexibility in the design of conflict-resolution algorithms supporting an advisory system.