Pilot's Associate: What Should it Do?

This paper describes the analysis required to select which crew decisions and actions should be assigned to an airborne computer system, capable of handling massive amounts of data and accomplishing speeds of analysis, calculation, and decision beyond human capability. Such a system is referred to as a Pilot's Associate (PA). The required processing system would probably utilize a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) concepts and deterministic algorithms.

To determine what functions must be accomplished by the combination of the aircraft crew and an expert system requires a top-down analysis of required functions, from which can be derived decision and action requirements, data processing requirements and allocations of performance between the PA and the crew.