Si una tecnolog\u00eda no es intuitiva, lo m\u00e1s probable es que no se utilice. El Centro de Aviaci\u00f3n y Misiles DEVCOM, con sede en Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, es el punto focal de investigaci\u00f3n y desarrollo del Ej\u00e9rcito para tecnolog\u00eda avanzada en sistemas de aviaci\u00f3n y misiles. Una de las cosas que escuchamos en el campo es que los sistemas no se utilizan porque son demasiado dif\u00edciles de usar.\u00a0El CSWG se cre\u00f3 para mitigar este problema\u201d.<\/p>\n
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. \u2014 If a technology isn\u2019t intuitive, chances are, it won\u2019t be used.<\/p>\n
True in everyday life and especially true in aviation when creating technology to support Army aviators. Partnering with Program Executive Office – Aviation\u2019s project offices, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center conducts government-executed Crew Station Working Groups to assess the avionics requirements through human-factors engineering, utilizing early Soldier evaluations.<\/p>\n
The key mission of the DEVCOM AvMC Aviation Crew Stations Branch is conducting CSWGs comprising Army and industry partner stakeholders, all with a vested interest in ensuring that Army aviators have the best solution at their fingertips.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe support the end user,\u201d said Jena Salvetti, lead human factors engineer for the Crew Stations branch. \u201cWe evaluate prototype interfaces, with users-in-the-loop, while addressing human factors principles, aviation mission tasks, and sub-system conventions to ensure that final designs are intuitive. The CSWG process was designed to ensure aviators have a say in their interfaces rather than pushing an interface to the field and saying, \u2018You\u2019ll figure it out.\u2019 One of the things we hear from the field is that systems are not being used because they\u2019re too hard to use. The CSWG was created to mitigate this issue.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
For more than 25 years, AvMC has partnered with the Utility and Cargo Helicopter Project Offices leading the working group activities. With the demonstrated success of more than 115 CSWG activities across 13 project offices and seven airframes, the Apache Helicopter Project Office joined the partnership with the fielding of the AH-64E.<\/p>\n
One of the ways that the Aviation Crew Stations Branch ensures that they are designing with the user \u2014 or pilot \u2014 in mind is utilizing former Army pilots to lead the process. They have seven.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a really unique branch in the number of users we have in the group,\u201d said Kevin Bieri, aerospace engineer. The Aviation Crew Stations Branch, totaling 10 civilians with contracting support, is divided into three teams: platform leads, human factors and engineering.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of experience in the room,\u201d Ross Lewallen, AH-64E Crew Station Working Group lead, said.<\/p>\n
Of course, anyone familiar with Army aviation knows that pilots won\u2019t hold back when it comes to talking shop \u2014 or how to make the aircraft better.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have two pilots in a room and get three opinions,\u201d Bieri said with a laugh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The team agreed the reason why the CSWG works so well is due to the rapid prototyping that takes place during those Soldier evaluations. When the pilots give their evaluation, often the engineers will immediately make the adjustments to the technology. In the world of engineering, to have that instant impact is immensely rewarding, they said.<\/p>\n
The challenge is that sometimes they work too fast, Lewallen said, evaluating technology for the CSWG that is not yet mature. It\u2019s a unique challenge but one that they accept, to continue to bring the best capabilities to the Soldiers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are three to five years ahead of the product line,\u201d said Lewallen. \u201cWhich is good because some of the things that we’re working on, we’re given a blank slate. They ask, \u2018How do you think this will work?\u2019 And that’s when we use the experience we have in the lab \u2014 former pilots, engineers, aerospace guys, all of our talents \u2014 to come up with something. Then we fly and make some modifications to it to fit with the users want. We know a long time ahead of the airframe what it’s going to look like. I think that is that is a unique part of our job. I love it. It’s one of my favorite parts \u2014 getting out ahead of the conception line.\u201d<\/p>\n