A taxonomy to classify automation in all domains.
A framework to guide the analysis and design of human performance automation support
The LOAT was originally developed in the context of the SESAR Programme, by analyzing 26 different automated functionalities for the Air Traffic Control and the flight crew.
It was the basis to develop a set of Automation Design Principles in the context of the Project 16.5.1 ‘Identification and Integration of Automation Related Good Practices’.
Deep Blue developed the new taxonomy while coordinating the project on Automation Related Good Practice on behalf of ENAV. Other partners contributing to the project were Airbus France, EUROCONTROL, DFS, THALES, AENA and NATMIG.
We were initially facing with difficulties in applying existing models to concrete automation examples and we decided to transform these difficulties in an opportunity. We combined solid theoretical foundations with concrete experiences of automation support and we came up with a taxonomy of automation levels capable of covering virtually all cases.
The LOAT is a matrix combining four psychomotor functions (information acquisition, information analysis, decision and action selection, action implementation) with different automation levels, where the level ‘zero’ represents manual operations and the higher levels identify increasing automation interventions.
Combined with a dedicated set of automation principles, the LOAT can be used to compare different design options in order to determine the optimal automation level in all operational contexts.
After its development in SESAR, different stakeholders both inside and outside the ATM domain have adopted the taxonomy.
You can use the LOAT to orient yourself in these choices.
Finding the right level helps to make sure that you are taking full benefit from it, without being negatively affected by side effects, such us nuisance alerts or erroneous directions.
The LOAT has been developed in the Air Traffic Management domain but is applicable to all domains in which automation plays an important role in sustaining human performance.
In De Waard, D., Brookhuis, K., Dehais, F., Weikert, C., Röttger, S., Manzey, D., Biede, S., Reuzeau, F., and Terrier, P. (Eds.) (2012), Human Factors: a view from an integrative perspective. Available as open source download. ISBN 978-0-945289-44-9
EUROCONTROL Hindsight (issue n. 20), December 2014. HindSight is a bi-annual magazine produced for air traffic controllers by the EUROCONTROL Safety Improvement Sub-Group (SISG). This issue was dedicated to Safety and Automation