Quadrant INTERACT™ delivers the full training advantages, cost savings, and longer-term operational benefits that SATCE brings to operators through synthetic flight training.
INTERACT is suitable for supporting all pilot training from ab initio to advanced recurrent synthetic flight training and delivers a flexible, dynamic and interactive simulated virtual environment for FSTDs.
ELEVATE PILOT TRAINING
Core Pilot Competencies
Introducing INTERACT into training programmes will support the exercise and development of arguably all pilot core competencies referenced by ICAO (in Doc 9995, Manual of Evidence-based Training).
These include application of procedures (APK), communication (COM), leadership and teamwork (LTW), flight path management (FPM/FPA), problem solving and decision making (PSD), situation awareness and management of information (SAW), and workload management (WLM). We should also consider that scenarios incorporating INTERACT support the development of knowledge (KNO), especially concerning ATC procedures.
Scenario-based Training
The increasing use of real-time scenario-based training is underpinning rising interest from airlines and training organisations for SATCE. Scenario-based training is a substantial element of modern ab initio licences and training courses, such as EASA’s Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL), and most recently the Airline Pilot Standard Multi-Crew Co-operation (APS MCC).
With this training technology embedded in a flight simulator, INTERACT delivers realistic flight crew workloads and supports the development of core pilot competencies, particularly those that build resilience, such as situational awareness, and communication, workload management, leadership and decision-making.
Flexible Device Utilisation
Using INTERACT greatly improves instructor-in-seat training or in-seat-instruction. Typically, with in-seat-instruction, the instructor occupies either the left- or right-hand seat and role-plays for the benefit of the trainee. With INTERACT, the instructor doesn’t have to role play ATC as well as their own crew role, and both instructor and trainee can focus on the scenario as a flight crew member.
Introducing INTERACT will help to promote the flexible use of devices for this kind of one-to-one focussed training. It also facilitates using flight simulators in new and more varied ways – such as training where the instructor is remotely located, or solo or multi-crew ‘controlled’ training sessions where the instructor is absent.
IMPROVE TRAINING EFFICIENCY
Future Possibilities
Looking to the future, there are exciting possibilities using INTERACT for introducing many more varied and challenging real-time training scenarios. INTERACT introduces synthetic ATC and other traffic, and these entities can be controlled and manipulated. The instructor is able to plan or trigger all manner of new and varied challenges for the ownship flight crew. For example, an aircraft ahead of the ownship on final approach could land and fail to vacate; undertake a surprising manoeuvre; or ATC may issue the ownship a challenging or delayed clearance.
With this technology, EBT scenarios can be designed that reflect the common threats faced by crews in line operations. Airlines will be better able to match real-world threats to those experienced by their flight crews in synthetic training. Much of these commonly experienced challenges from the environment are onerous or impossible for the instructor to replicate without the adoption of a SATCE solution like INTERACT.
Adding AI to Flight Simulators
Quadrant INTERACT™ uses speech recognition and synthesis technologies, where ownship radio transmissions are interpreted by an artificial intelligent (AI) system in real time. The AI has an ‘awareness’ of the ownship, such as its flight phase and intentions, and can objectively measure the flight crew’s expected responses and ownship behaviours.
Adding an AI system to the simulator means an objective, data-rich output for instructors and trainees can be available for de-briefing. These data can include, for example, adherence to standard phraseology, communication errors or omissions, and ATC clearance or route deviations.
Using INTERACT helps training providers offer modern, effective, scenario-based training programmes, delivering higher quality and more consistent, predictable outcomes.
For example, cadets can be evaluated in a fully populated, rich synthetic environment supported by INTERACT. Before they graduate to initial line training, their readiness can be assessed in the simulator, and at the point they graduate, the ‘jump’ in workload is less severe. Lower rates of re-training and more predictable line training scheduling saves operators valuable time and costs.
With higher realism delivered by INTERACT, operators can transfer a greater proportion of training from the aircraft to the simulator. The costs and scheduling of synthetic training are known and predictable.
Flight crew performance in key areas such as communications (clarity and efficiency), workload management, and situational awareness can be improved using INTERACT, which in turn will lead to an air carrier increasing its operational efficiency.