scholarly journals Eyeblink Detection in the Field: A Proof of Concept Study of Two Mobile Optical Eye-Trackers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Schweizer ◽  
Thomas Wyss ◽  
Rahel Gilgen-Ammann
Keyword(s):  
Military Training ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Training Environment ◽  
Fatigue Development ◽  
Blink Detection ◽  
Sleep Deficit ◽  
Physical Capacities ◽  
Blink Frequency

ABSTRACT Introduction High physical and cognitive strain, high pressure, and sleep deficit are part of daily life for military professionals and civilians working in physiologically demanding environments. As a result, cognitive and physical capacities decline and the risk of illness, injury, or accidents increases. Such unfortunate outcomes could be prevented by tracking real-time physiological information, revealing individuals’ objective fatigue levels. Oculometrics, and especially eyeblinks, have been shown to be promising biomarkers that reflect fatigue development. Head-mounted optical eye-trackers are a common method to monitor these oculometrics. However, studies measuring eyeblink detection in real-life settings have been lacking in the literature. Therefore, this study aims to validate two current mobile optical eye-trackers in an unrestrained military training environment. Materials and Method Three male participants (age 20.0 ± 1.0) of the Swiss Armed Forces participated in this study by wearing three optical eye-trackers, two VPS16s (Viewpointsystem GmbH, Vienna, Austria) and one Pupil Core (Pupil Labs GmbH, Berlin, Germany), during four military training events: Healthcare education, orienteering, shooting, and military marching. Software outputs were analyzed against a visual inspection (VI) of the video recordings of participants’ eyes via the respective software. Absolute and relative blink numbers were provided. Each blink detected by the software was classified as a “true blink” (TB) when it occurred in the software output and the VI at the same time, as a “false blink” (FB) when it occurred in the software but not in the VI, and as a “missed blink” (MB) when the software failed to detect a blink that occurred in the VI. The FBs were further examined for causes of the incorrect recordings, and they were divided into four categories: “sunlight,” “movements,” “lost pupil,” and “double-counted”. Blink frequency (i.e., blinks per minute) was also analyzed. Results Overall, 49.3% and 72.5% of registered eyeblinks were classified as TBs for the VPS16 and Pupil Core, respectively. The VPS16 recorded 50.7% of FBs and accounted for 8.5% of MBs, while the Pupil Core recorded 27.5% of FBs and accounted for 55.5% of MBs. The majority of FBs—45.5% and 73.9% for the VPS16 and Pupil Core, respectively—were erroneously recorded due to participants’ eye movements while looking up, down, or to one side. For blink frequency analysis, systematic biases (±limits of agreement) stood at 23.3 (±43.5) and −4.87 (±14.1) blinks per minute for the VPS16 and Pupil Core, respectively. Significant differences in systematic bias between devices and the respective VIs were found for nearly all activities (P < .05). Conclusion An objective physiological monitoring of fatigue is necessary for soldiers as well as civil professionals who are exposed to higher risks when their cognitive or physical capacities weaken. However, optical eye-trackers’ accuracy has not been specified under field conditions—especially not in monitoring fatigue. The significant overestimation and underestimation of the VPS16 and Pupil Core, respectively, demonstrate the general difficulty of blink detection in the field.

scholarly journals An Adaptive Game-Based Learning Strategy for Children Road Safety Education and Practice in Virtual Space

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3661
Author(s):  
Noman Khan ◽  
Khan Muhammad ◽  
Tanveer Hussain ◽  
Mansoor Nasir ◽  
Muhammad Munsif ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Safety Training ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Safety Education ◽  
Average Output ◽  
Training Environment ◽  
The Road

Virtual reality (VR) has been widely used as a tool to assist people by letting them learn and simulate situations that are too dangerous and risky to practice in real life, and one of these is road safety training for children. Traditional video- and presentation-based road safety training has average output results as it lacks physical practice and the involvement of children during training, without any practical testing examination to check the learned abilities of a child before their exposure to real-world environments. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a 3D realistic open-ended VR and Kinect sensor-based training setup using the Unity game engine, wherein children are educated and involved in road safety exercises. The proposed system applies the concepts of VR in a game-like setting to let the children learn about traffic rules and practice them in their homes without any risk of being exposed to the outside environment. Thus, with our interactive and immersive training environment, we aim to minimize road accidents involving children and contribute to the generic domain of healthcare. Furthermore, the proposed framework evaluates the overall performance of the students in a virtual environment (VE) to develop their road-awareness skills. To ensure safety, the proposed system has an extra examination layer for children’s abilities evaluation, whereby a child is considered fit for real-world practice in cases where they fulfil certain criteria by achieving set scores. To show the robustness and stability of the proposed system, we conduct four types of subjective activities by involving a group of ten students with average grades in their classes. The experimental results show the positive effect of the proposed system in improving the road crossing behavior of the children.

Die Bundeswehr und die Belgischen Streitkräfte in Deutschland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Springer
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Military Training ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
History Of ◽  
Military Training Areas ◽  
The Military ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Peak Phase ◽  
East West

This study is dedicated to the regional history of the East-West conflict on the basis of the relationship between the Germany military and the Belgian armed forces stationed in Germany. The central question it addresses is which factors were largely responsible for the interdependence between actors and institutions of both armies. In addition to analysing the limited time of the peak phase of Belgian military deployment in the Federal Republic 1946–1990, the book concentrates regionally on the military training areas of Vogelsang in the Eifel and the Wahner Heide near Cologne as military contact zones. For this purpose, the author evaluates unpublished archival sources at the local level for the first time.

The Mediating Effect of English Self-efficacy on the Relationships between Motivation to Learn, Intention to Share Knowledge, and Job Performance Among Military Personnel

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 228
Author(s):  
Siti Haizam Mohd Zin ◽  
Mohammad Nazri
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Military Training ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
The Relationship

Extensive research on the relationship between employees' use of English in the workplace and their job performance has revealed that the use of English at work leads to increased job performance and positive interactions among staff. In relation to this, a good command of English among military staff, especially officers, is of great importance to the Armed Forces, as military personnel often serve abroad and need to be proficient in communicating their instructions and orders to a foreign team. Previous research has also shown that self-efficacy is a significant predictor of job performance; however, the role of self-efficacy in learning English language skills has not been widely explored as mediator in the relationship between motivation to learn, intention to share knowledge, and job performance. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a conceptual framework that can be used to improve the understanding of English self-efficacy and its relationship with employees’ motivation to learn, intention to share knowledge, and capability to complete a given task. This framework informs and guides future research that will test the hypothesized relationships. The findings would assist the English Department of the Education Directorate of the Malaysian Armed Forces to design or revise military training syllabi and approaches.

scholarly journals Integration of Civil and Military Professional Education as an Approach to Formation of a Modern Army

2021 ◽  
pp. 159-171
Author(s):  
A. N. Muzykantov ◽  
◽  
S. L. Khalepa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Education System ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Military Training ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Military Education ◽  
State University ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Military

The author analyzes the periods of origin, formation and development of the military education system. The problems of military education in general and the training of officers in particular, which cannot be solved without the integration of military professional education and education in military training centers at civilian universities, are touched upon. Using the example of M. A. Bonch-Bruevich St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications, a new approach to the formation of the personnel potential of the Armed Forces – officers’ training at a civil educational institution is shown.

Performance of a mobile infrasound station in the framework of CEEIN 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Mitterbauer ◽  
Daniela Ghica
Keyword(s):  
Military Training ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
National Data ◽  
Private Company ◽  
Seismic Sensors ◽  
Global Events ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Military

<p>The project ABC-MAUS is undertaken by a collaboration of the Austrian Ministry of Defense, Joanneum Research, the Austrian national weather and geophysical service Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik (ZAMG), including the Austrian National Data Center (NDC), as well as the private company GIHMM. The aim is to develop a strategy of protection for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threads (CBRN) for the Austrian armed forces.</p><p>In the frame of the project, a mobile infrasound array was deployed together with seismic sensors to monitor the military training ground Allentsteig in Lower Austria. During one week a series of controlled explosions was recorded. Infrasound data was processed and analyzed by using a duo of infrasound detection-oriented software (DTK-GPMCC and DTK-DIVA, packaged into NDC-in-a-Box). The dataset contained not only local and regional data, but revealed as well long term sources and – after comparing the data with data from stations of the CEEIN (Central Eastern European Infrasound Network) – some global events. Those events were localized using data of the temporary deployed array and by observations collected by other stations of the CEEIN.</p>

Applied Training in Virtual Environments

2011 ◽  
pp. 928-940
Author(s):  
Ken Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Corporate Education ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Training Environment ◽  
Training Project ◽  
Carry Over

Virtual worlds hold enormous promise for corporate education and training. From distributed collaboration that facilitates participation at a distance, to allowing trainees to experience dangerous situations first-hand without threat to personal safety, virtual worlds are a solution that offers benefits for a multitude of applications. While related to videogames, virtual worlds have different parameters of interaction that make them useful for specific location or open-ended instructional exchanges. Research suggests that participants identify quickly with roles and situations they encounter in virtual environments, that they experience virtual interactions as real events, and that those experiences carry over into real life. This paper will evaluate the attributes of a successful applied training project, the Canadian border simulation at Loyalist College, conducted in the virtual world Second Life. This simulated border crossing is used to teach port of entry interview skills to students at the college, whose test scores, engagement level, and motivation have increased substantially by utilizing this training environment. The positive results of this training experience led the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to pilot the border environment for agency recruits, with comparable results. By analyzing the various elements of this simulation, and examining the process with which it was used in the classroom, a set of best practices emerge that have wide applicability to corporate training.

Investigating Entrepreneurship Among Nigerian Retired Military Veterans

2021 ◽  
pp. 119-147
Author(s):  
Sanya Ojo
Keyword(s):  
Military Training ◽  
Military Veterans ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Service Members ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
Career Options

The condition of survival within the Nigerian Armed Forces, in terms of post-retirement career options, has inadvertently produced a growing number of ex-service members (veterans) who turned to entrepreneurship to earn income and remain active. However, against the alleged failure of entrepreneurship in this group, this chapter sets out to investigate the nature and characteristics of veteran entrepreneurship. Through the application of case study methodology, the study reveals that veteran entrepreneurship does not differ significantly to civilian entrepreneurship. Veteran entrepreneurs confront the same challenges as their civilian counterparts while veterans' military backgrounds and military training appear to have both facilitating and inhibiting effects on veteran entrepreneurships in Nigeria.

The Emergence of Organizational Process Liability as a Future Direction for Research on Technology Acceptance

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Jason Nichols ◽  
David Biro ◽  
Ramesh Sharda ◽  
Upton Shimp
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Military Training ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Training Environment ◽  
Organizational Process ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Intention To Continue

During the assessment of a system recently deployed in a military training environment, a survey administered to capture subjects’ intention to continue use of the software resource directly conflicts with the outcome of interviews conducted with the same subjects at the same time. From the richness of the interview data, the conflict is identified to be the result of a seemingly underexplored notion in the literature: organizational process liability. This emerging construct is positioned within existing technology acceptance literature, and initial directions for future research are proposed.

INFLUENCE OF THE REFORM OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND, CONDUCTED IN THE YEARS 2009-2016, ON THE SECURITY OF THE COUNTRY IN THE OPINION OF CITIZENS

2020 ◽  
Vol XIII ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Justyna Lipińska
Keyword(s):  
Military Training ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The State ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Social Opinions ◽  
The Impact

The conflict in Ukraine in 2014 raised questions in Poland about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the reform of the Polish army, which began in 2009. The abandonment of universal conscription and professionalization of the army resulted in a decrease in the number of people who underwent military training. And this began to raise concerns about the security of the state and its citizens. Research on the professionalization of the army and the impact of this decision on the increase or decrease of threats is important for Polish citizens. The article presents social opinions on this topic

Russia is expanding its military options in Syria

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Military Training ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Military Support ◽  
Russian Military ◽  
State Group

Subject Russia's diversified military capacity in Syria. Significance Russian armed forces played an active role in the Syrian government's recapture of Palmyra in March, despite the partial withdrawal of Russian aircraft from Syria. As well as air strikes, months of Russian military training and arms deliveries enhanced the Syrian army's combat capacity, contributing to a rapid collapse of Islamic State group (ISG) resistance. The operation showed how Russia has widened the instruments available: it can scale conventional air strikes up or down, provide fire support from helicopters or artillery, and use these elements to compensate for deficiencies in the Syrian military, while supplying weaponry, training and coordination to local forces. Impacts Russian military support can ensure the Syrian regime's survival, but that will require a long-term presence. The recapture of Aleppo would constitute a near fatal blow to the Syrian rebel movement. The Russian military will learn lessons about weaponry and coordination from the Syrian operation. Elements of these lessons including control of proxy forces may be applied in future foreign interventions. The use of mercenaries, trialled in Syria, offers Moscow a useful and deniable instrument abroad.

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