Ergonomic Evaluation of Aircraft Cockpit Based on Model-Predictive Control

A brief description about the ergonomic evaluation problems on the research subject of cockpit ergonomic evaluation theories and methods was made followed by the proposal of an aircraft cockpit ergonomic evaluation model based on the framework of model-predictive control. Repetitive decision making and feedback control made the model capable of handling constraints including physical limitations of aircraft dynamics as well as psychological and physiological limitations of flight crew. Active constraints which manifest limitations related to both human factors and cockpit ergonomic considerations can be determined by an optimization solver, in a real-time and quantitative manner. Such a model can be used to study the safety effect of flight due to pilot´s human factors, and to guide safety design of aircraft. The model can also be used to locate the root of failure and its possibility caused by pilot´s operate lapse in the human machine system, and then to compare the relative merits of various cockpit designs.