$5,000,000 FAA CAMI Grant & 2026 UTD ROAR Research Award
Lead developer and researcher on a 5-year, $5M research grant awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI). Honored with the 2026 UT Dallas Recognition of Outstanding Achievements in Research (ROAR) award.
The FAA Technical Operations Extended Reality (XR) Maintenance Suite is a safety-critical training and ergonomics research system developed at the VAST Lab in close partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The platform simulates high-voltage airway facilities equipment—including Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), air traffic communication towers, and navigational aid maintenance procedures—using spatial mixed reality headsets.
Human Factors & Wear Time Research
Beyond technical procedural guidance, the project investigates cognitive load, physical neck/eye strain, and spatial interaction degradation across sustained XR usage in field maintenance environments:
- Ergonomic Fatigue: Measuring cervical spine tilt angles and center-of-mass head torque during multi-hour overhead equipment inspections.
- Cognitive Aptitude Tailoring: Adapting UI guidance density based on real-time task completion heuristics and eye-gaze tracking metrics.
Procedural Modules & Hardware Simulation
The suite trains field technicians across several high-risk operational modules:
- Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Maintenance: Step-by-step breaker lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) protocols and internal capacitor discharge sequencing.
- Digital Multimeter Calibration: Realistic probe interactions, voltage testing, and live multimeter circuit measurements.
- Air Traffic Control Tower Infrastructure: High-altitude navigation beacon maintenance and forklift safety maneuvers.
