Paper Title
Characterization Of Air Traffic Controllers’ Visual Search Patterns And Control Strategies

Abstract
Due to the high cost of training new air traffic controllers, we need less costly ways to effectively train them, particularly in the light of the bubble of new controllers expected to enter the FAA workforce in the near future. If we can better understand how veteran controllers visually search and control multiple aircraft under different situations, then we could improve the training procedures to reduce the time and cost for training new controllers. An experiment was conducted to characterize and classify veteran controllers’ visual search patterns and aircraft control strategies using a high-fidelity simulator. Eye tracking data and verbal responses were analyzed together to discover dominant strategies. The results show promise on using veteran controllers’ strategies to support training of novices, especially FAA Academy candidates. Keywords: Eye Tracking, Eye Movement, Air Traffic Control, Visual Search Patterns