Spatial information visualization on the flight deck: a systematic literature review

We present the results of a systematic literature search in the domain of aeronautical charts. This article presents findings from 36 papers published after the year 2000 with user studies across different flight phases (e.g. take-off, landing) and applications (e.g. navigation, weather). Findings are discussed in multiple dimensions, such as the communication between cartographers and map users (pilots), the effect of technological systems, and the effect of the visualizations on situation awareness. Results highlight the critical balance between information richness and cognitive load, showing that advanced visual systems enhance situation awareness and performance but can introduce biases and attentional tunneling, which should be taken into account in future studies. A key limitation found is the number of expert users involved in the studies, as well as the study environment, with the majority of studies taking place in labs or simulators, and only a handful in actual flight environments.