BLEXVFR: Designing a Mobile Assistant for Pilots

Piloting an aircraft is a difficult task that requires high-level cognitive abilities. Few studies have investigated the use of cognitive assistants to support pilots. This study is a first step toward an in-flight assistant for light aircraft pilots. We applied a user-centered approach to develop BLEXVFR, a mobile application that enables pilots to access information and program alerts. A pilot study in a simulator with four pilots showed that the user experience of BLEXVFR was at least comparable to existing applications.