The Research Of ATC Workload Based On Area Sector Complexity Factors

Air traffic controller is one of the key roles in aviation safety and efficiency. Workoverload will lead to unsafe, and too easily workload will lead to low efficiency,therefore workload assessment plays a key role in research on air traffic management.Most air traffic controller workload assessment methods are developed from the modelbased on the number of aircraft and the time that an air traffic controller handled. It isno probability for those methods to represent the complexities of air traffic situationaccurately. Furthermore, the number of flights handled by a controller cannot reflectthe subjective workload of controllers effectively.The workload assessment model in area radar control sectors is established in thispaper. In allusion to the shortness of the previous methods, the complex factors ofsectors are proposed as the evaluation indexes. Meanwhile air traffic situation is alsoput into consideration as well as Air Traffic Workload Input Technique (ATWIT) is.Experimental subjects are air traffic controllers with rich controlling experiencefrom Shanghai and Xingjiang air traffic control centers. There are two stages ofquestionnaire survey conducted to establish the key evaluating indexes system, and18air traffic control majors involved in this experiment. The data is obtained from thesimulation experiment designed in accordance with the real air traffic control situation.In the end, the new controller workload assessment model has been established byemployment of BP Neural Network Algorithm (BP-NNA). By contrast with LinearRegression Model (LRM), the results indicate that the new model has a betterperformance in predictions, presenting a smaller error mean, standard division andrange. The new method and computer system developed from this new model canevaluate real controller workload more accurately, which attributes a lot to sectorslayout and air traffic flow management with great significance and prospectiveapplication.