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Using a Low Cost Flight Simulation Environment for Interdisciplinary EducationA multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary education is increasingly being emphasized for engineering undergraduates. However, often the focus is on interaction between engineering disciplines. This paper discusses the experience at Tuskegee University in providing interdisciplinary research experiences for undergraduate students in both Aerospace Engineering and Psychology through the utilization of a low cost flight simulation environment. The environment, which is pc-based, runs a low-cost of-the-shelf software and is configured for multiple out-of-the-window views and a synthetic heads down display with joystick, rudder and throttle controls. While the environment is being utilized to investigate and evaluate various strategies for training novice pilots, students were involved to provide them with experience in conducting such interdisciplinary research. On the global inter-disciplinary level these experiences included developing experimental designs and research protocols, consideration of human participant ethical issues, and planning and executing the research studies. During the planning phase students were apprised of the limitations of the software in its basic form and the enhancements desired to investigate human factors issues. A number of enhancements to the flight environment were then undertaken, from creating Excel macros for determining the performance of the 'pilots', to interacting with the software to provide various audio/video cues based on the experimental protocol. These enhancements involved understanding the flight model and performance, stability & control issues. Throughout this process, discussions of data analysis included a focus from a human factors perspective as well as an engineering point of view.
Document ID
20070025210
Acquisition Source
Armstrong Flight Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Khan, M. Javed
(Tuskegee Univ. AL, United States)
Rossi, Marcia
(Tuskegee Univ. AL, United States)
ALi, Syed F.
(Tuskegee Univ. AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
June 1, 2004
Subject Category
Engineering (General)
Meeting Information
Meeting: ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Country: United States
Start Date: June 1, 2004
Sponsors: American Society for Engineering Education
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG4-226
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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