Simultaneous Masking Between Audio Alarms in Terminal Air Traffic Control for Raytheon’s Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hall C
• Description:
  Raytheon Systems Company proposed the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) in effort to replace the current systems of alarms being used in Air Traffic Control (ATC). STARS worked to eliminate unnecessary alarms and to lessen confusion among air traffic controllers. STARS uses six alarms to identify the various issues that are attended to by an air traffic controller. These alarms are tonal melodies with associated frequencies and sounding periods. Due to this, the alarms are susceptible to simultaneous masking, the phenomenon where one tone or sound cannot be perceived (total masking) or can only be partially perceived (partial masking) in the presence of another tone or sound due to limitations of the human sensory system. Simultaneous masking of STARS alarms has not previously been researched. This work uses a computational method to analyze the STARS alarms to determine if any masking is possible among the potential configurations. The method, created by Dr. Matthew Bolton for use in the medical field, was modified to fit the needs of this research. In this paper, we describe the method, present and discuss the results, and identify areas for future research. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Air Traffic Controllers Hazard Communication Noise Frequencies Sensory Perceptual Processes Sound Propagation Warning Systems
• ISBN:
  9798672197784
• Publisher:
  ProQuest LLC.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Thesis
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063921
• Citation:
  Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest LLC., 2020 Aug; :28090477
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Buffalo
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20060701
• Source Full Name:
  Simultaneous masking between audio alarms in terminal Air Traffic Control for Raytheon's Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e17db2676719753d2122738f0370266699ced590b7d20436eeaefd9950a8818283c50a1d556935a405bd94de66690ecb536785f32211c1d8c7de55ff6b9acbf2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222456/cdc_222456_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 272.94 KB ]