Physiological Data Used to Measure Pilot Workload in Actual Flight and Simulator Conditions

Abstract

Three physiological measures of workload; heart rate, eye blink, and EEG were recorded from eight experienced A-7 attack aircraft pilots. Each pilot flew the same familiar training mission three times; one mission in the lead position of a four ship formation and the other as wing, and once in an A-7 simulator. The mission lasted approximately 90 minutes and consisted of take-off, low altitude terrain following, high G maneuvers, inflight navigational updates, weapons delivery, and a high altitude cruise to base, ending in a formation landing. The data show significant differences between simulated and actual flights for all measures. There were also significant differences between mission segments for each pilot. The heart rate data most obviously reflect the changes in workload level throughout the mission and between flight position and simulator. Blink rate and duration were sensitive to changing visual attentional demands. The EEG data showed differences between the actual flight missions and the simulator.

<title>Individual differences in visual behavior in simulated flight</title>

“…The behaviour of blinking between fixations has been shown in previous studies among pilots. Wilson, Purvis, Skelly, Fullenkamp, and Davis (1987) showed that pilots tend to blink less during moments with important information. Instead, pilots tend to blink more after the runs (e. g. Boehm-Davis, Gray, and Schoelles, 2000).…”

The development of mental workload measurement in flexible manufacturing systems

“…In practice, valid methods for measuring mental workload must be used for the following four purposes: (1) allocating functions and tasks between the human and the machine, based on the predicted mental workload; (2) comparing alternative equipment and task designs in terms of the mental workload imposed; (3) supervising the operator of complex equipment to help him/her to adapt to the difficult task, and (4) choosing operators who have higher mental capacities for demanding tasks (Sanders and McCormick, 1987). Some workload measurements have been proposed, such as physiological variables (Beatty, 1982;Israel et al, 1980;Kramer, Wickens, and Donchin, 1983;Wastell, Brown, and Copeman, 1981;Wierwille, 1979;Wilson et al, 1987); secondary task methods (Ogden, Levine, and Eisner, 1979;Rolfe, 1971;Wickens, 1979Wickens, , 1980Wierwille and Casali, 1984); primary task measurements (Albanese, 1977;Linton, 1975), and subjective measurements (Cooper and Harper, 1969;Gopher and Braune, 1984;Gopher and Donchin, 1986;Hart and Staveland, 1988;Hendy, Hamilton, and Landry, 1993;Nygren, 1991;Reid, Shjingledecker, and Eggemeier, 1981;Wierwille and Casali, 1983).…”

Fizyolojik Sinyallerin Askerî Amaçlı Kullanılabilirliği: Elektroensefalografi ve Yakın Kızılaltı Spektroskopisi Örnekleri

“…Pilotların uçuş esnasındaki solunum, kalp atış hızı, göz hareketleri ve beyin dalgaları gibi fizyolojik ölçümleri uçuşla ilgili bilgi vermektedir. Bu konuda yapılan çalışmalarda uçuş esnasında pilottaki fizyolojik ölçümlerdeki farklılaşma gözlemlenmiştir [9]. Laboratuvar ve uçuş anında yapılan deneylerde, EEG sinyallerinin izlenmesi ile merkezi sinir sistemi ve g kuvveti etkisinin performans ilişkisini ortaya çıkaran başarılı sonuçlar alınmıştır [10].…”