Usability Evaluation of Spot and Runway Departure Advisor (SARDA) Concept in Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Tower Simulation

Spot and Runway Departure Advisor (SARDA) is a decision-support tool proposed to aid air traffic control tower controllers in reducing taxi delay and optimizing the runway sequence. The purpose of the present paper was to evaluate the tool's usability to ensure that its claimed performance benefits are not being realized at the cost of increasing the work burden on controllers. The study analyzed workload ratings and questionnaire responses collected during a human-in-the-loop simulation experiment and assessed the effects of the SARDA advisories on the controllers' cognitive resources (e.g., workload, spare attention) and satisfaction. The results showed that SARDA reduced the controllers' workload and increased their perceived spare attention. SARDA also made workload and attention levels less susceptible to the effects of increases in the traffic load. The questionnaire responses suggested that the controllers generally were satisfied with the ease of use of the tool and the intended benefits of the SARDA concept, but with slight reservations. Sharing high-level reasoning behind SARDA's optimization process with the controllers may help the concept to gain more trust from them.