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Carl Westin

Assistant Professor

What is it doing? Why is it doing that? What happened now? My research focuses on how operators interact and understand automation and how we can design automation to improve human-automation collaboration.

Human factors research on human-automation collaboration in safety-critical working environments

We are becoming increasingly dependent on automation in our profession and private life. In parallel, automation is growing more capable and complex, making it increasingly more difficult to understand. Issues of misunderstanding and mistrust of automation are particular concerns in safety-critical working environments where human operators supervise the automation and are required to assume control if needed (e.g., aviation, maritime, rail, road, and process industry). As a Human Factors (ergonomics) researcher, my mission lies in studying the physiological and psychological interaction between humans and automation and designing automation that better supports the collaboration between humans and automation. The goal is to enhance safety, improve comfort, increase efficiency, and reduce breakdowns between humans and automation.

My main research interests center on empirical studies in safety-critical transportation domains, such as flight decks, air traffic control, and maritime operations. My focus has been on understanding the relationship between humans and machines from the perspective of human behavior and cognition and exploring automation designs that work in symbiosis with humans while supporting safety and efficiency. I am particularly interested in personalized automation (i.e., strategic conformal automation), transparent automation, and solutions to applying eye-tracking technologies in active operations and simulator training.

For thirteen years, I have combined the role of an academic researcher and a commercial pilot.

More information about my research and academic profile can be found on:

Publications

2026

Jonas Lundberg, Alexandre Duchevet, Evangelos D. Spyrou, Vassilios Kappatos, Anaisa Villani, Ricardo Reis, Carl Westin, Barry Kirwan, Vanessa Arrigoni, Simone Pozzi, Magnus Bång (2026) Levels of Autonomy in Cognitive Control (LACC-LOA): Bidimensional Assessment Method Applied to Six AI Assistant Concepts and Scenarios in the Aviation Domain International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2026.2662524

2025

Elmira Zohrevandi, Aida Nordman, Anders Ynnerman, Jonas Lundberg, Carl Westin, Katerina Vrotsou (2025) Engaging Safety-Critical Operators in Visualization Design 2025 IEEE Conference on Engaging Critical Workforce In co-Design aNd Assessment (ECWIDNA), p. 29-33 (Conference paper) https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ecwidna68506.2025.00014
Jekaterina Basjuka, Carl Westin, Gustaf Söderholm, Karl Johan Klang, Jonas Lundberg (2025) The design and evaluation of a visual narrated storytelling concept to improve end users understanding of explanations from a conceptual AI assistant Behavior and Information Technology (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2596891
Carl Westin, Karl Johan Klang, Jekaterina Basjuka, Gustaf Söderholm, Jonas Lundberg, Magnus Bång, Karljohan Lundin Palmerius, Supathida Boonsong, Asa Taraldsson (2025) Human-AI Teaming in the Urban Air Mobility Coordinator Work Position: A Proof-of-Concept Design ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE ERGONOMICS, EPCE 2025, PT II, p. 256-275 (Conference paper) https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93721-7_18
Jenny Söderman, Ludwig Halvorsen, Jekaterina Basjuka, Carl Westin (2025) A Design Evaluation of Text and Graphical Explanations from a Conceptual Intelligent Assistant in Urban Air Traffic Management ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE ERGONOMICS, EPCE 2025, PT II, p. 167-183 (Conference paper) https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93721-7_13

Education

PhD in Human Factors, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, 2017


MSc in Applied Ergonomics, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom,
2012

Air Traffic Pilot - University diploma. School of aviation, Lund University, Sweden, 2006

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