Workload and Situation Awareness in Future Aircraft

Cockpits have changed dramatically over the last ten years. The electro-mechanical instruments have largely been replaced with electro-optical controls and displays. This change in the pilot-vehicle interface, coupled with a second development, the emergence of a very powerful airborne computer system, an Electronic Crewmember, has had a significant impact on workload in the cockpit. Workload has shifted from physical to mental, and many workload measurement tools applied previously may no longer be appropriate. This paper discusses the prediction, real time measurement and dynamic allocation of cockpit workload in an aircraft with a crew of two -- one human and one electronic.