Automation in aviation

Automation 80 replaces the human organism in the sensing, decision-making and deliberate output" (Webster, 1981).The Oxford English Dictionary (1989) defines automation as:1. Automatic control of the manufacture of a product through a number of successive stages; 2. The application of automatic control to any branch of industry or science; 3.By extension, the use of electronic or mechanical devices to replace human labour.According to Parasumaran and Sheridan, "automation can be applied to four classes of functions:1. Information acquisition; 2. Information analysis; 3. Decision and action selection; 4. Action implementation."Information acquisition is related to the sensing and registration of input data.These operations are equivalent to the first human information processing stage, supporting human sensory processes.If we adopt a decision-making model based on perception, identification, mental process, decision, action, follow-up and feedback, information acquisition could be likened to the first step: perception.Let's imagine a video camera and the aid it offers in monitoring activity.It helps to replace continuous, boring, monotonous human observation with reliable, objective and detailed data on the environment.Automation may handle these functions, as it is more efficient in detecting compared to humans, while -at the same time -it offers the possibility of positioning and orienting the sensory receptors, sensory processing, initial data pre-processing prior to full perception, and selective attention (e.g.: the focus function in a camera).