While the technological aspects of mission challenges are always considered when planning, attention must also be given to the human challenges operators face in mission-critical situations. Helicopter pilots have one of the most mentally and physically demanding jobs, whether they’re flying SAR missions, surveillance and law enforcement operations, or are in the military.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the physical, technical and physiological human challenges helicopter operators face in their role. We will explore how these issues can be minimised or overcome using both general technology and processes and how Aircraft Missions Systems can play a pivotal role in tackling aviation challenges on a daily basis.
Looking more in-depth at the technological solutions that include AI, Enhanced Reality and multi-layered functionality within Mission Console systems, we’ll also examine the key features of mission management software and its impact on various human challenges.
What mission challenges do operators face?
As technology advances, humans can often be regarded as the ‘weak link’ within an operation system. Unlike machines, human beings can suffer from stress and fatigue, which can negatively influence their performance. Other issues, such as cognitive overload, can severely affect the decision-making process, reduce the ability to process data, and compromise situational awareness.
While training, short shift patterns, and ergonomic designs for items such as seats, work gear and even the helmets worn by pilots can all go some way to alleviating these operator and pilot challenges, the most effective solution is to reduce the workload and allow the operator to concentrate on fewer tasks.
Mission challenges – Miscommunication and lack of technical support
Mission challenges can also include other key areas, such as communications. A breakdown in communications between the helicopter and ground control units can lead to operational failure. Standard protocols are always used to avoid miscommunication, but in a highly fluid situation, even those protocols can be circumvented, leading to errors. Bad communications can also, in extreme cases, put lives in danger.
Operators’ situational awareness needs to be constantly maintained, including monitoring the surroundings, assessing environmental conditions, and even predicting the mission outcome. Other pilot challenges, such as fatigue, a lack of technological support, or out-of-date information, can all adversely affect situational awareness, jeopardising the mission and the safety of the unit and crew.
Throwing petrol on the fire
It may be tempting to tackle these mission challenges by simply throwing technology at the problem. However, the right solutions must be used to avoid worsening the situation.
Technological integration, including AI and Enhanced Reality, has to be introduced so that human operators find its use intuitive rather than challenging. No matter how seemingly beneficial a piece of software is, if it isn’t easy to use, it can hinder rather than help operators.
This leads to another vital mission challenge – training. Continual training is required to keep both aircraft and ground crew up to date with the latest technology, methodology, and best practices. Aviation challenges include understanding how technological advancements, software upgrades, and the introduction of AI platforms all dovetail into existing operational systems.
If these upgrades are overly complicated, they can slow down their implementation into a helicopter and require more operator training. This, in turn, takes up time and money, making overly complex software solutions both financially and physically inefficient.
The mental challenges facing operators
Finally, we have to consider the mental and psychological stress factors that can affect aerial unit crews. The constant stress of flying an exceptionally complex machine while maintaining crew safety, the success of the mission, and the sheer volume of information that has to be absorbed during even the simplest of missions can profoundly impact the operators’ well-being. This can manifest itself in a number of ways, from interrupted sleep patterns, physical and mental exhaustion, ‘brain fog’, and even serious long-term health issues.
It can also lead to anxiety and depression, as well as PTSD, which can make an individual unable to continue operating safely and effectively. This can then have a knock-on effect on the operator, whether that’s a military or civilian organisation. Training replacement operators and looking after the mental and physical well-being of experienced pilots can be both financially expensive and time-consuming.
So, with so many pilot challenges facing operators, what are the solutions?
Using technology to tackle airborne operator, mission and aviation challenges
The most obvious way of alleviating some of the operator challenges that can have an adverse impact on operational success is to reduce the workload, allowing the operator to focus on the most important aspect of their job – actually Make the right decision during the mission.
This can be achieved by delegating tasks such as information gathering, observation, and communications to other crew members. However, technology can also have a huge positive impact by automating a variety of tasks and enhancing others to make them easier to respond to.
For example, Enhanced Reality programs can provide operators with multiple layers of additional information while muting some of the background ‘noise’ that isn’t relevant to the operation. This gives users improved situational awareness and even better visibility.
A prime example is FlySight’s OPENSIGHT Mission Console, which includes a variety of AI and ER software that can provide better visibility in foggy or smoky conditions, layer on spatial information over an urban landscape, or identify, tag, and fix on a target even if it’s moving.
Aircraft Mission Systems such as OPENSIGHT can also perform various tasks, including data transfer between aerial units and control centres. Turnkey solutions such as Mission Console or Analyst Console create multi-platform PED (Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination) systems that can then be tailored with plug-ins to create intuitive, easy-to-use systems.
These Consoles can then take over many of the more mundane operations within a cockpit, freeing up the crew to focus on mission challenges and vehicle operation.
Following the STANAG Guidelines and Rules, the systems use AI and Enhanced Reality to expand a crew’s capabilities without putting them under undue pressure. The result is a far more efficient interaction between human operators and technology. This, in turn, reduces the possibility of stress and fatigue, streamlines operational procedures both on the ground and in the air, and reduces the number of aviation challenges crews face.
The use of software is decisive in real time but also has a role to play for both pre- and post-mission operations, particularly when it comes to data analysis. Again, because of their intuitive nature, these plug-ins are easy to implement within a closed system, providing real-time feedback that can be relayed to operators in the field or examined at length after the mission is complete.
The use of AI (in conjunction with human operators) allows for more data to be processed quickly. This can be life-saving in a search-and-rescue situation.
Find out more about FlySight’s OPENSIGHT now
The possibility of human error compounds the complexities of mission challenges. OPENSIGHT can help reduce negative influences such as fatigue, stress, or poor communication.
With a fully customisable solution that can be adapted to suit your needs, FlySight’s OPENSIGHT Mission Console is designed to overcome these aviation challenges. Find out more by exploring OPENSIGHT here, or contact our team to talk in confidence about your requirements today and discover our technology solutions for aviation missions.
🎤Read the full interview to Avionic Psychologist Eleonora Avi in our in-depth article.
