The genesis of human engineering

In August 1945, almost 40 years ago, Lt. Col. Paul M. Fitts, Ph.D., arrived at AMRL to head the new Psychology Branch. The need for such an organization, directed at equipment design solutions to human operator problems, was recognized during WW II. Many aircraft had been lost through pilot error. Gunnery, radar, navigation, and other systems had suffered degraded performance because of operator errors. Similar problems were also recognized in the U.S. Navy and in Great Britain, where new organizations with similar goals were set up as the war was ending. The initial staff for the new Psychology Branch came mostly from the wartime selection and classification program in the Training Command. The psychologists attacked their new mission with vigor and rapidly switched their research efforts to the design of cockpits, instruments, radar scopes, gun sights, and navigation systems. They also interacted eagerly with biomedical personnel in AMRL, and with engineers and aircrew personnel in other Wright-Patterson organizations. This paper reviews some scientific approaches of this pioneering effort. After 40 years, the Human Engineering Division is still active and well. This is testimony not only to its past history of accomplishments, but also to the organizational support and scientific environment provided by AMRL.