Human Factors Considerations in the Development of a Voice Warning System for Helicopters

FUTURE VARIANTS OF THE S-76 WILL HAVE THE MOST ADVANCED COCKPIT OF ANY COMMERCIAL HELICOPTER IN THE INDUSTRY. BESIDES THE ADDITION OF CRT'S FOR THE DISPLAY OF INFORMATION, SIKORSKY DECIDED TO INSTALL A VOICE WARNING SYSTEM TO DO AWAY WITH THE VARIOUS TONES AND BEEPS IN THE PRESENT SYSTEM BUT TO PERMIT THE PILOT TO FLY “HEADS-UP” FOR LONGER PERIODS AND TO RELIEVE HIM FROM THE TASK OF MONITORING THE CAUTION WARNING PANEL. THE HUMAN FACTORS GROUP AT SIKORSKY CONDUCTED A SYSTEMATIC SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE MESSAGES, THEIR PRIORITY, AND THE TYPE OF VOICE TO BE UTILIZED IN THIS SYSTEM. THIS PAPER DESCRIBED THE PROCEDURE FROM PILOT INTERVIEWS THROUGH THE TESTING OF VARIOUS VOICES FOR QUALITY, UNDERSTANDABILITY TO ACTUAL INSTALLATION AND FLIGHT TESTING.