Gamification in Automated Air Traffic Control: Increasing Vigilance Using Fictional Aircraft

Calin Andrei Badea; Gijs de Rooij; Clark Borst; Max Mulder

doi:10.59490/ejtir.2025.25.2.7370

Gamification in Automated Air Traffic Control: Increasing Vigilance Using Fictional Aircraft

Authors

Calin Andrei Badea Control and Simulation, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft, The Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5462-3559
Gijs de Rooij Control and Simulation, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft, The Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4646-476X
Clark Borst Control and Simulation, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft, The Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9393-5304
Max Mulder Control and Simulation, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft, The Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0932-3979

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59490/ejtir.2025.25.2.7370

Keywords:

Air Traffic, Control Automation, Gamification, Vigilance

Abstract

The introduction of more advanced automation in air traffic control seems inevitable. Air traffic controllers will then take the role of automation supervisors, a role which is generally unsuitable for humans. Gamification, the use of game elements in non-gaming contexts, shows promising results in mitigating the effects of boredom in highly automated domains requiring human supervision. An example is luggage screening, where dangerous items are rarely found, through projecting fictional threats on top of x-ray scans. This paper presents and experimentally tests a proposed implementation of gamification within highly automated en-route air traffic control. Fictional flights were superimposed among automatically controlled real traffic, thus creating fictional conflicts that needed resolving. System supervisors were tasked to supervise the behaviour of a fully automated conflict detection and resolution system, while manually routing fictional flights safely and efficiently through the sector, avoiding conflicts with both real and fictional flights. Automation anomalies were simulated, as well as an automation failure event, after which the system supervisor needed to assume manual control over all traffic. The presence of fictional flights increased self-reported concentration levels and reduced boredom. However, some participants reported that fictional flights were distracting. Thus, while the use of fictional flights increases engagement, it might negatively affect other cognitive functions, and with that, compromise safety. Thus, while the implementation of such a tool might provide benefits in terms of skill retention and engagement, further research is recommended involving professional air traffic controllers, improved measurement tools and a longitudinal study that better excites boredom, complacency, and skill erosion in order to understand and mitigate its negative effects.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Bainbridge, L. “Ironies of automation”. In: Automatica 19.6 (1983), pp. 775–779. DOI: 10.1016/0005-1098(83)90046-8.

Bekier, M., Molesworth, B.R.C., and Williamson, A. “Tipping point: The narrow path between automation acceptance and rejection in air traffic management”. In: Safety Science 50.2 (2012), pp. 259–265. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2011.08.059.

Bekier, M. and Molesworth, B.R.C. “Altering user’ acceptance of automation through prior automation exposure”. In: Ergonomics 60.6 (2017), pp. 745–753. ISSN: 0014-0139. DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2016.1216610. (Visited on 2024-10-21).

Berberian, B., Ohneiser, O., De Crescenzio, F., Babiloni, F., Di Flumeri, G., and Hasselberg, A. “MINIMA Project: Detecting and Mitigating the Negative Impact of Automation”. In: Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics: Performance, Emotion and Situation Awareness. 2017, pages 87–105.

Borst, C., Flach, J.M., and Ellerbroek, J. “Beyond Ecological Interface Design: Lessons From Concerns and Misconceptions”. In: IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems 45.2 (2015). DOI: 10.1109/THMS.2014.2364984.

Borst, C., Visser, R.M., Paassen, M.M. van, and Mulder, M. “Exploring Short-Term Training Effects of Ecological Interfaces: A Case Study in Air Traffic Control”. In: IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems 49.6 (Dec. 2019), pp. 623–632. DOI: 10.1109/THMS.2019.2919742.

Cutler, V. and Paddock, S. “Use of threat image projection (TIP) to enhance security performance”. In: 43rd Annual 2009 International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology. 2009, pp. 46–51. DOI: 10.1109/CCST.2009.5335565.

EUROCONTROL. Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART) — HP repository. 2012. url: http://web.archive.org/web/20200527113214/https://ext.eurocontrol.int/ehp/?q=node%2F1608 (visited on 2020-04-24).

Foroughi, C.K., Sibley, C., Brown, N.L., Rovira, E., Pak, R., and Coyne, J.T. “Detecting automation failures in a simulated supervisory control environment”. In: Ergonomics 62.9 (2019), pp. 1150–1161. DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2019.1629639.

Hancock, P.A. “In Search of Vigilance The Problem of Iatrogenically Created Psychological Phenomena”. In: The American psychologist 68 (2012). DOI: 10.1037/a0030214.

Hendrickx, P. and Tisza, A. B. EUROCONTROL Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre OPS & Automation Strategy. 2019. url: https://skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/5341.pdf.

Hofer, F. and Schwaninger, A. “Using threat image projection data for assessing individual screener performance”. In: WIT Transactions on the Built Environment 82 (Jan. 2005), pp. 417–426. DOI: 10.2495/SAFE050411.

Hurter, C., Degas, A., Guibert, A., Durand, N., Ferreira, A., Cavagnetto, N., Islam, M. R., Barua, S., Ahmed, M.U., Begum, S., Bonelli, S., Cartocci, G., Flumeri, G.D., Borghini, G., Babiloni, F., and Aric´o, P.. “Usage of more transparent and explainable conflict resolution algorithm: air traffic controller feedback”. In: Transportation Research Procedia. 34th Conference of the European Association for Aviation Psychology 66 (2022), pp. 270–278. ISSN: 2352-1465. DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2022.12.027.

Kenny, Shane and Li, Wen-Chin. “The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Traffic Controllers’ Performance: Addressing Skill Fade Concerns in Preparation for the Return to Normal Operations”. In: Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics. Vol. 13307. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022, pp. 300–313. ISBN: 978-3-031-06085-4 978-3-031-06086-1. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-06086-1_23.

Khatib, F., DiMaio, F., Cooper, S., Kazmierczyk, M., Gilski, M., Krzywda, S., Zabranska, H., Pichova, I., Thompson, J., Popovi, Z., Jaskolski, M., and Baker, D. “Crystal structure of a monomeric retroviral protease solved by protein folding game players”. In: Nature structural & molecular biology 18.10 (Sept. 18, 2011), pp. 1175–1177. DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2119.

Kim, T. and Werbach, K. “More than just a game: ethical issues in gamification”. In: Ethics and Information Technology 18.2 (June 2016), pp. 157–173. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-016-9401-5.

Langford, K., Kille, T., Lee, S., Zhang, Y., and Bates, P.R. ““In automation we trust” - Australian air traffic controller perspectives of increasing automation in air traffic management”. In: Transport Policy 125 (2022), pp. 352–362. ISSN: 0967-070X. DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2022.07.001.

Loft, S., Bhaskara, A., Lock, B.A., Skinner, M., Brooks, J., Li, R., and Bell, J.. “The Impact of Transparency and Decision Risk on Human–Automation Teaming Outcomes”. en. In: Human Factors 65.5 (2023), pp. 846–861. ISSN: 0018-7208. DOI: 10.1177/00187208211033445.

Mackworth, N. “The Breakdown of Vigilance during Prolonged Visual Search”. In: Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (1948). DOI: 10.1080/17470214808416738.

Mercer, J., Gomez, A., Gabets, C., Bienert, N., Edwards, T., Martin, L., Gujral, V., and Homola, J. “Impact of Automation Support on the Conflict Resolution Task in a Human-in-the-Loop Air Traffic Control Simulation”. In: 13th IFAC Symposium on Analysis, Design, and Evaluation of Human-Machine Systems (2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2016.10.458.

Meuter, R. and Lacherez, P. “When and Why Threats Go Undetected: Impacts of Event Rate and Shift Length on Threat Detection Accuracy During Airport Baggage Screening”. In: Human Factors 58.2 (Mar. 1, 2016), pp. 218–228. DOI: 10.1177/0018720815616306.

Munyung, K., Borst, C., and Mulder, M. “Situation Awareness Prompts: Bridging the Gap between Supervisory and Manual Air Traffic Control”. In: 15th IFAC Symposium on Analysis Design and Evaluation of Human Machine Systems. 2022.

Nieto, S. and Javier, F. “The long journey toward a higher level of automation in ATM as safety critical, sociotechnical and multi-Agent system”. In: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering 230.9 (July 1, 2016), pp. 1533–1547. DOI: 10.1177/0954410015596763.

Noskievic, T. and Kraus, J. “Air Traffic Control Tools Assessment”. In: MAD - Magazine of Aviation Development 5.2 (2017), pp. 6–10. DOI: 10.14311/MAD.2017.02.01.

Ohneiser, O., De Crescenzio, F., Di Flumeri, G., Kraemer, J., Berberian, B., Bagassi, S., Sciaraffa, N., Aric`o, P., Borghini, G., and Babiloni, F. “Experimental Simulation Set-Up for Validating Out-Of-The-Loop Mitigation when Monitoring High Levels of Automation in Air Traffic Control”. In: International Journal of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering 12.4 (2018), p. 12.

Paja, E., Poggianella, M., Aydemir, F., and Giorgini, P. PACAS: A Gamified Platform for Participatory Change Management in ATM Systems. Proceedings of International Conference on Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality (REFSQ 2018), Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2018.

Parasuraman, R., Molloy, R., and Singh, I.L. “Performance Consequences of Automation-Induced ‘Complacency’”. In: The International Journal of Aviation Psychology 3.1 (1993), pp. 1–23. DOI: 10.1207/s15327108ijap0301_1.

Parasuraman, R., Sheridan, T.B., and Wickens, C.D. “A model for types and levels of human interaction with automation”. In: IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part A: Systems and Humans 30.3 (2000). DOI: 10.1109/3468.844354.

Pop, V., Stearman, E., Kazi, S., and Durso, F. “Using Engagement to Negate Vigilance Decrements in the NextGen Environment”. In: Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interaction 28 (Feb. 1, 2012), pp. 99–106. DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2012.634759.

Rogosic, T., Juricic, B., Antulov-Fantulin, B., and Radisic, T. “Review of Automation Problems in Air Traffic Control”. In: 2021 44th International Convention on Information, Communication and Electronic Technology (MIPRO). 2021, pp. 1636–1641. DOI: 10.23919/MIPRO52101.2021 .9597063.

Rooij, G. de, Tisza, A.B., and Borst, C. “Flight-Based Control Allocation: Towards Human–Autonomy Teaming in Air Traffic Control”. In: Aerospace 11 (2024), pp. 919. DOI: 10.3390/aerospace11110919

Sargent, R., Walters, B., and Wickens, C.D.. “Meta-analysis Qualifying and Quantifying the Benefits of Automation Transparency to Enhance Models of Human Performance”. en. In: Human-Computer Interaction. Ed. by Masaaki Kurosu and Ayako Hashizume. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2023, pp. 243–261. ISBN: 978-3-031-35596-7. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-35596-7_16.

Schwaninger, A. “Threat Image Projection: Enhancing Performance?” In: Aviation Security International (Dec. 2006), pp. 36–41.

SESAR Joint Undertaking. European ATM Master Plan: Digitalising Europe’s Aviation Infrastructure. Publications Office of the European Union, 2019. ISBN: 978-92-9216-110-1.

Smith, P.J. and Baumann, E.. “Human-Automation Teaming: Unintended Consequences of Automation on User Performance”. In: 2020 AIAA/IEEE 39th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC). 2020, pp. 1–9. DOI: 10.1109/DASC50938.2020.9256418.

Strauch, B. “Ironies of Automation: Still Unresolved After All These Years”. In: IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems 48.5 (2018). DOI: 10.1109/THMS.2017.2732506.

Svensson, A, Lundberg, J., Forsell, C., and Ronnberg, N.. “Automation, teamwork, and the feared loss of safety: Air traffic controllers’ experiences and expectations on current and future ATM systems”. In: Proceedings of the 32nd European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics. ECCE ’21. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, 2021, pp. 1–8. ISBN: 978-1-4503-8757-6. DOI: 10 . 1145/3452853.3452855.

Volz, K.M. and Dorneich, M.C. “Evaluation of Cognitive Skill Degradation in Flight Planning”. In: Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making 14.4 (2020), pp. 263–287. ISSN: 1555-3434. DOI: 10.1177/1555343420962897.

Wickens, C.D., Gordon, S., and Liu, Y. An Introduction to Human Factors Engineering. 2nd. Pearson Education, 2004. ISBN: 978-0131837362.

Zichermann, G. and Cunningham, C. Gamification by Design. First Edition. Sebastopol, California, USA: O’Reilly Media, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-4493-9767-8.