Single Pilot Operations (SPO) are emerging as an important paradigm aiming to support operational costs reduction, in particular for smaller vehicles, such as CS-23 ones, but also for larger commercial aircraft. This paradigm can represent a valuable support towards increasing the economic efficiency of air transport, for instance over a regional range, in particular for cargo applications but also, over longer target time horizon, for passengers. This driver is further supported by new entrants such as short-range electric aircraft, where the operational costs are expected to be lower than corresponding fuel powered vehicles, pushing for reduction in crew that does not only correspond to costs reduction but also to weight reduction, which is crucial for electrically powered vehicles. From a technological point of view, the introduction of single pilot operations requires a significant increase of onboard automation, in order to avoid overloading the single pilot, while at the same time requiring the presence of onboard systems able to detect and manage possible events of pilot incapacitation. In addition, in order to appropriately enable and effectively exploit the single pilot paradigm, dedicated cockpit design is needed and safety aspects considerations are crucial. Relevant research activities in this domain are developed in the framework of international programmes, covering one or more of the above indicated aspects. This session aims constituting an opportunity to provide the description of the research activities that are ongoing on the addressed topics, stimulating discussion and cross-fertilization and emphasizing the main challenges and opportunities.

The topics under the scope of the session cover the whole spectrum of Single Pilot Operations (SPO) technologies and related concepts, including: innovations in cockpit and avionics, automation and autonomy, ATC/ATM procedures, self-separation and collision avoidance, mission management, decision making support to the pilot, power management systems, health monitoring systems, emergency management systems, remote piloting, operational scenarios, safety and regulations