Safe Transition to Digital Assistants for Aviation

Project Information

SafeTeam

Grant agreement ID: 101069877

DOI

10.3030/101069877

Project closed

EC signature date 17 June 2022

Start date 1 July 2022

End date 30 June 2025

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 4 031 420,00

EU contribution

€ 3 760 182,50

Coordinated by

FUNDACION INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACION INNAXIS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SafeTeam (Safe Transition to Digital Assistants for Aviation)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The SafeTeam project arises in a changing aviation environment, where new technology meets traditional industry methods focused on a strong and necessary safety culture.

Rooted in Paul Fitts' pioneering work of 1951, which delineated the roles of humans and machines in task distribution, SafeTeam analyzes the role of automation in reshaping aviation operations and investigates on its safe integration. Over the decades, from the advent of AI research in the 1950s to the recent surge in algorithmic training fueled by big data and cloud computing, aviation has witnessed a gradual integration of automation.

Today, on the cusp of a paradigm shift, SafeTeam seeks to harness the transformative potential of AI and digitalization to enhance safety and efficiency in aviation. Leveraging concrete case studies within aircraft crew, air traffic control operations and drones mission planning, SafeTeam aims to propel the industry towards higher levels of automation while prioritizing safety and human-centric design. These case studies, meticulously selected based on technological maturity and industry relevance, serve as testbeds for evaluating the efficacy of intelligent assistance systems.

Central to SafeTeam's mission is a deep understanding of human factors and safety considerations in the context of automation. By assessing AI performance metrics such as explainability and accuracy, alongside considerations of workload and situational awareness, SafeTeam aims to optimize human-machine interaction and ensure seamless integration of automation into operational workflows.

The objectives of SafeTeam are manifold, encompassing technological advancement, regulatory compliance, and industry collaboration. By championing a human-centric approach to automation, SafeTeam aims to facilitate the seamless integration of AI technologies into aviation operations, underpinned by robust methodologies for performance assessment and monitoring. Furthermore, SafeTeam seeks to support the development of digital assistants for aviation operations while ensuring alignment with regulatory and certification requirements.

In essence, SafeTeam represents a concerted effort to navigate the complexities of automation in aviation, guided by a commitment to safety, collaboration, and innovation. By forging interdisciplinary partnerships and embracing a holistic approach to research and development, SafeTeam endeavors to shape the future of aviation in a manner that enhances both human performance and industry resilience.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

SafeTeam has made progress across four main areas:

1) A human-centric design framework for the safe integration of automation in aviation, supporting technology developers from the design to the development phase, ensuring that human factors are considered at each step of the process.

2) Development of three Digital Assistants to support aviation operations:

- DA for ATC complexity assessment: Assesses, in real time, the complexity of a given air traffic sector, taking into account not just traffic volume but also anticipated interactions.

- DA for unstable approach (UA) prediction in the cockpit: Alerts the pilot when an approach manoeuvre has a high likelihood of becoming unstable, allowing for timely corrective action.

- DA for drone risk assessment: Supports drone operators in planning beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights by assessing potential risks and suggesting alternative routes when necessary.

3) Methodologies to assess human–machine collaboration in aviation, with metrics and procedures to support validation efforts in other use cases and by future researchers.

4) Support to new regulatory and certification frameworks, by engaging with aviation authorities from the early stages of technology developments.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

SafeTeam advances the current state of the art by addressing critical gaps in the safe integration of automation into aviation.

The human-centric design framework introduced by SafeTeam provides structured guidance throughout the full lifecycle of technology development, ensuring systematic inclusion of human factors from concept to deployment. This framework supports technology developers from the design to the development phase, ensuring that human factors are systematically considered at each stage of the process. Unlike existing fragmented approaches, SafeTeam’s framework provides structured guidance throughout the full lifecycle, enabling safer and more human-aware automation solutions.

The three Digital Assistants developed under SafeTeam go beyond traditional decision-support tools by integrating real-time predictive capabilities and risk-aware reasoning:

- Digital Assistant for ATC complexity assessment: Assesses, in real time, the complexity of a given air traffic sector, considering not just traffic volume but also anticipated interactions between aircraft—moving beyond traditional metrics used in ATC support tools. One of the main novelties of the proposed approach is the capacity to compute, real time, the interactions among traffics.
- Digital Assistant for unstable approach (UA) prediction in the cockpit: Proactively alerts pilots when an approach manoeuvre is likely to become unstable, allowing timely corrective action. This anticipatory function goes beyond existing reactive warning systems.
- Digital Assistant for drone risk assessment: Assists drone operators in planning beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights by identifying potential risks and proposing safer alternative routes in real time—an enabler for safer BVLOS operations.

In addition, SafeTeam contributes with a set of metrics and evaluation procedures for human–machine teaming with digital assistants. These are among the first replicable methodologies for this purpose in aviation, supporting future validation efforts in other operational contexts and contributing to standardisation.

Finally, the project directly supports the evolution of regulatory frameworks by involving authorities early in the development process—something rarely done at this stage—ensuring future alignment with certification needs.

SafeTeam infographic for ATCOs interview results

Poster SIDs 2024

Safeteam Phase I summary

Poster SIDs 2022

Poster SIDs 2023