Aerospace Human System Integration Evolution over the Last 40 Years

TL;DR

This paper reviews the 40-year evolution of Human-Centered Design in aerospace, highlighting shifts from physical to cognitive focus, the rise of digital interaction, and the current emphasis on complex, multi-agent systems and organizational issues.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the historical progression and current state of Human Systems Integration in aerospace, emphasizing new multi-agent and systemic approaches.

Findings

Shift from physical to cognitive human factors in aerospace

Development of human-computer interaction and UX in cockpits

Focus on complex, multi-agent systems and organizational issues

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the evolution of Human-Centered Design (HCD) in aerospace systems over the last forty years. Human Factors and Ergonomics first shifted from the study of physical and medical issues to cognitive issues circa the 1980s. The advent of computers brought with it the development of human-computer interaction (HCI), which then expanded into the field of digital interaction design and User Experience (UX). We ended up with the concept of interactive cockpits, not because pilots interacted with mechanical things, but because they interacted using pointing devices on computer displays. Since the early 2000s, complexity and organizational issues gained prominence to the point that complex systems design and management found itself center stage, with the spotlight on the role of the human element and organizational setups. Today, Human Systems Integration (HSI) is no longer only a single-agent problem, but a multi-agent research field. Systems are systems of systems, considered as representations of people and machines. They are made of statically and dynamically articulated structures and functions. When they are at work, they are living organisms that generate emerging functions and structures that need to be considered in evolution (i.e., in their constant redesign). This chapter will more specifically, focus on human factors such as human-centered systemic representations, life critical systems, organizational issues, complexity management, modeling and simulation, flexibility, tangibility and autonomy. The discussion will be based on several examples in civil aviation and air combat, as well as aerospace.