Does folding improve the usability of interactive surfaces in future airliner cockpits An evaluation under turbulent conditions and varying cognitive load

Abstract

In recent years, many aircraft manufacturers have proposed innovative cockpit concepts based on touchscreens. Although having a large number of advantages, this type of solution suffers from severe limitations in operational use, in particular, eyes-free interaction is nearly impossible and touchscreens are extremely complex to use during turbulent conditions. We examined the contribution of physicality to overcome these weaknesses by introducing a shape-changing touchscreen that offers folds on which the user hand can rest. This surface has been assessed in simulator during piloting conditions that varied in terms of turbulences and mental workload. Results showed that the folds helped reducing physical effort by stabilizing the arm and hand. This physicality was also associated with better performance in the piloting task, as well as with better situational awareness of the state of the aircraft’s systems, most certainly because the shapes offered by the folds had better visual properties (salience), making their monitoring less expensive in terms of attentional resources.