A human factors perspective on aircraft design

M. L. Cummins offered all the students in the various human factors groups at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the chance to win an iPod Shuffle by designing a cartoon that could represent a notional human factors team. He received three entries respectively by Tatsuya Arai, Christin Hart, and Fabrice Kunzi. Tatsuya decided to degenerate the rest of the airplane such as wings and engines, and turn small windows into a pilot-friendly huge canopy. Christin's design focused on aircraft cockpit. The bubble top provides the pilot a spacious flight deck with a cutting-edge technology. The well-situated joystick brings out the practical side of the aircraft. The last design includes a reset button next to the screen, in case the pilot and automation can't decide who should take control. The seat is ergonomically designed to accommodate pilots ranging from the 1st-percentile female to the 99th-percentile male. Behind the seat is a coffeemaker to address the danger of fatigue.

Duke Scholars

Author Mary "Missy" Cummings Electrical and Computer Engineering