An Evaluation of Human Performance with a Large Area Touchscreen in a Simulated Rotary Wing Environment

This paper presents results of a human machine interface (HMI) evaluation that examined representative flight deck tasks with a large area touchscreen installed in a ride quality simulator that replicated rotary wing vibration profiles. Touchscreens have made their way onto the flight deck of many fixed-wing aircraft and recently into rotary-wing cockpits as well. As such, there is a need to better understand how task performance is impacted by the unique vibratory environment encountered in helicopters. A large area touchscreen (LAD) was evaluated by 14 pilots conducting various touch tasks (target selection, data entry, swiping, long press and zoom), under three varying levels of vibration with and without flight gloves. Performance was assessed objectively (time to completion, touch accuracy, error rates) and subjectively (usability, musculoskeletal discomfort, and video footage). Design recommendations are made for display interface design, including target size, data entry and use of gestures. This study was reviewed and approved by an independent Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects.