Dynamic Assessment of Pilot Mental Status

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (24) ◽  
pp. 1997-2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Staffan Magnusson ◽  
Peter Berggren
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Mental Status ◽  
Operator Function ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
And Performance ◽  
New Sensors ◽  
Physiological Reactions

Modern flight and weapon platforms are becoming more and more sophisticated. New sensors and weapon systems are added, giving the operator more information to process before acting or deciding. Today, many pilots feel they reach their information processing limits during difficult missions and during difficult circumstances. The purpose of the present study has been to measure mental workload, situational awareness and performance during specific air-to-ground missions in both simulated and real flight in order to assess operator status. Specifically to compare simulated versus real flight regarding the concepts, to analyze the relationships between physiological reactions, situational awareness, and experienced mental workload and also develop and test causal models of operator function. A second purpose of the study was to develop practically useful methods for analyzing mental workload and performance during operative conditions.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence in Military Application – Opportunities and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-165
Author(s):  
István Szabadföldi
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Operational Planning ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Military Application ◽  
Human Machine Interfaces ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Military

Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing role in planning and supporting military operations and becoming a key tool in intelligence and analysis of the enemy’s intelligence. Another field of application of AI is the field of application of autonomous weapon systems and vehicles. The use of AI is expected to have a greater impact on the military functions of human-machine interfaces (machine-learning, man-machine teaming). AI promises to get over the “3V challenge” (volume, variety and velocity) of Big Data, and is also expected to reduce the risks concerning the other “2V” (veracity, value), and to render data processing on a controlled level of decision based on AI’s knowledge. The aim of the article is to provide an overview on the potentials of application of AI in the military and to highlight the need to identify and define measurable indicators to evaluate benefits of state-of-the-art technologies and solutions which are expected to improve quality and performance of operations focusing on key areas as of situational awareness and decision-making support and also logistic and operational planning as well as modelling and simulation (M&S).

scholarly journals Electrophysiological and performance variations following driving events involving an increase in mental workload

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Loeches De La Fuente ◽  
Catherine Berthelon ◽  
Alexandra Fort ◽  
Virginie Etienne ◽  
Marleen De Weser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Workload ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Performance Variations

scholarly journals Alarm calls elicit predator-specific physiological responses

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill M. Mateo
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Cortisol Increase ◽  
Physiological Reactions ◽  
Very High

Glucocorticoids regulate glucose concentrations and responses to unpredictable events, while also modulating cognition. Juvenile Belding's ground squirrels ( Urocitellus beldingi ) learn to respond to whistle and trill alarm calls, warning of aerial and terrestrial predators, respectively, shortly after emerging from natal burrows at one month of age. Alarm calls can cause physiological reactions and arousal, and this arousal, coupled with watching adult responses, might help juveniles learn associations between calls and behavioural responses. I studied whether young show differential cortisol responses to alarm and non-alarm calls, using playbacks of U. beldingi whistles, trills, squeals (a conspecific control vocalization) and silent controls. Trills elicited very high cortisol responses, and, using an individual's response to the silent control as baseline, only their response to a trill was significantly higher than baseline. This cortisol increase would provide glucose for extended vigilance and escape efforts, which is appropriate for evading terrestrial predators which hunt for long periods. Although whistles do not elicit a cortisol response, previous research has shown that they do result in bradycardia, which enhances attention and information processing. This is a novel demonstration of two physiological responses to two alarm calls, each appropriate to the threats represented by the calls.

Understanding aviation operators’ variability in advanced systems

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Papanikou ◽  
Utku Kale ◽  
András Nagy ◽  
Konstantinos Stamoulis
Keyword(s):  
Human Performance ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
Performance Shaping Factors ◽  
Generational Changes ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to identify variability in aviation operators in order to gain greater understanding of the changes in aviation professional groups. Research has commonly addressed human factors and automation in broad categories according to a group’s function (e.g., pilots, air traffic controllers [ATCOs], engineers). Accordingly, pilots and Air Traffic Controls (ATCOs) have been treated as homogeneous groups with a set of characteristics. Currently, critical themes of human performance in light of systems’ developments place the emphasis on quality training for improved situational awareness (SA), decision-making and cognitive load. Design/methodology/approach As key solutions centre on the increased understanding and preparedness of operators through quality training, the authors deploy an iterative mixed methodology to reveal generational changes of pilots and ATCOs. In total, 46 participants were included in the qualitative instrument and 70 in the quantitative one. Preceding their triangulation, the qualitative data were analysed using NVivo and the quantitative analysis was aided through descriptive statistics. Findings The results show that there is a generational gap between old and new generations of operators. Although positive views on advanced systems are being expressed, concerns about cognitive capabilities in the new systems, training and skills gaps, workload and role implications are presented. Practical implications The practical implications of this study extend to different profiles of operators that collaborate either directly or indirectly and that are critical to aviation safety. Specific implications are targeted on automation complacency, bias and managing information load, and training aspects where quality training can be aided by better understanding the occupational transitions under advanced systems. Originality/value In this paper, the authors aimed to understand the changing nature of the operators’ profession within the advanced technological context, and the perceptions and performance-shaping factors of pilots and ATCOs to define the generational changes.

scholarly journals TESSA: design and implementation of a platform for situational sea awareness

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-196
Author(s):  
Mario Scalas ◽  
Palmalisa Marra ◽  
Luca Tedesco ◽  
Raffaele Quarta ◽  
Emanuele Cantoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
End User ◽  
Performance Requirements ◽  
Platform Architecture ◽  
Front End ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Key Aspects

Abstract. This article describes the architecture of sea situational awareness (SSA) platform, a major asset within TESSA, an industrial research project funded by the Italian Ministry of Education and Research. The main aim of the platform is to collect, transform and provide forecast and observational data as information suitable for delivery across a variety of channels, like web and mobile; specifically, the ability to produce and provide forecast information suitable for creating SSA-enabled applications has been a critical driving factor when designing and evolving the whole architecture. Thus, starting from functional and performance requirements, the platform architecture is described in terms of its main building blocks and flows among them: front-end components that support end-user applications and map and data analysis components that allow for serving maps and querying data. Focus is directed to key aspects and decisions about the main issues faced, like interoperability, scalability, efficiency and adaptability, but it also considers insights about future works in this and similarly related subjects. Some analysis results are also provided in order to better characterize critical issues and related solutions.

scholarly journals Heart Rate Variability Analysis and Performance during a Repeated Mental Workload Task

2017 ◽  
pp. 69-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rossana Castaldo ◽  
Luis Montesinos ◽  
Tim S. Wan ◽  
Andra Serban ◽  
Sebastiano Massaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Heart Rate Variability Analysis ◽  
Variability Analysis ◽  
And Performance

A Cross-Domain Approach to Designing an Unobtrusive System to Assess Human State and Predict Upcoming Performance Deficits

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 707-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Bracken ◽  
Noa Palmon ◽  
Lee Kellogg ◽  
Seth Elkin-Frankston ◽  
Michael Farry
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Cognitive Workload ◽  
Performance Deficits ◽  
Cognitive Readiness ◽  
Cross Domain ◽  
Mission Success ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
And Performance

Many work environments are fraught with highly variable demands on cognitive workload, fluctuating between periods of high operational demand to the point of cognitive overload, to long periods of low workload bordering on boredom. When cognitive workload is not in an optimal range at either end of the spectrum, it can be detrimental to situational awareness and operational readiness, resulting in impaired cognitive functioning (Yerkes and Dodson, 1908). An unobtrusive system to assess the state of the human operator (e.g., stress, cognitive workload) and predict upcoming performance deficits could warn operators when steps should be taken to augment cognitive readiness. This system would also be useful during testing and evaluation (T&E) when new tools and systems are being evaluated for operational use. T&E researchers could accurately evaluate the cognitive and physical demands of these new tools and systems, and the effects they will have on task performance and accuracy. In this paper, we describe an approach to designing such a system that is applicable across environments. First, a suite of sensors is used to perform real-time synchronous data collection in a robust and unobtrusive fashion, and provide a holistic assessment of operators. Second, the best combination of indicators of operator state is extracted, fused, and interpreted. Third, performance deficits are comprehensively predicted, optimizing the likelihood of mission success. Finally, the data are displayed in such a way that supports the information requirements of any user. The approach described here is one we have successfully used in several projects, including modeling cognitive workload in the context of high-tempo, physically demanding environments, and modeling individual and team workload, stress, engagement, and performance while working together on a computerized task. We believe this approach is widely applicable and useful across domains to dramatically improve the mission readiness of human operators, and will improve the design and development of tools available to assist the operator in carrying out mission objectives. A system designed using this approach could enable crew to be aware of impending deficits to aid in augmenting mission performance, and will enable more effective T&E by measuring workload in response to new tools and systems while they are being designed and developed, rather than once they are deployed.

The Fit between External Involvement and Business Environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 46-64
Author(s):  
Di Cai ◽  
Taiwen Feng ◽  
Zhenglin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
Performance Information ◽  
Environment Analysis ◽  
Processing Theory ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Previous studies are inconsistent in their findings about the relationship between external involvement and performance. The authors attribute this inconsistency to the misfit between external involvement and business environment. Drawing the concept of fit between information processing capabilities and needs from information processing theory, they develop the fitting patterns between external involvement and business environment and examine their impacts on performance. Information processing capabilities are measured by the degree of two types of external involvement in the NPD process and information processing needs are assessed based on three dimensions of business environment. Cluster analysis was used to develop the taxonomies of fit between external involvement and business environment. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the impacts of fitting patterns between external involvement and business environment on performance. The results reveal six fitting patterns between external involvement and business environment. ANOVA results show that the fitting patterns between external involvement and business environment are related to both operational performance and business performance, supporting our fit theory.

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