A Queueing Model of Many-Instrument Visual Sampling

In the present paper we will discuss the task of a pilot (namely of a high performance jet plane) sampling the information given to him by the instruments on his panel. We will present a model that attempts to explain and match the behavior of pilots under actual flight conditions. This model is based on the concept of the different instruments competing for the attention of the pilot. Some may be unimportant under a given flight condition, but many should be looked at, the urgency of doing so being measured by the risk incurred if the corresponding value is beyond a certain threshold. Costs are assigned to each instrument; at each sampling instant the decision as to what instrument to look at is based on comparing for the different instruments the combined effect of both the probability of exceeding the threshold and a cost of exceeding that threshold. Effectively, the instruments queue for the pilot´s attention; the instrument with the highest priority at each instant is then served (looked at).