Collaborative Air Traffic Control: Integrating Digital Controllers and Human Partners via Shared Mental Models

Kurzfassung

Establishing an effective collaborative relationship between digital and human air traffic controllers requires a common understanding of the working environment. This paper addresses that need by building a digital situation awareness framework by focusing on the conflict resolution capabilities of a digital controller system. The authors conducted a workshop with eight air traffic controllers, which revealed human controllers’ preference for human-like resolutions that prioritize safety and minimize delays, emphasizing the importance of intuitive de- cisions and learned sector patterns. To build digital situation awareness and incorporate workshop feedback, the authors propose a data-driven method for assessing traffic complexity and mental networks, introducing tools for analyzing conflict risks, airspace occupancy, and flow patterns. The practical application of the proposed approach is demonstrated through an example of conflict detection and resolution, showcasing digital-human collaboration. A technical feasibility study and implementation conditions for creating a digital mental image are discussed, and results are presented.