Siegfried Rothe

Improved Team Performance Using EEG- and Context-Based Cognitive-State Classifications for a Vehicle Crew

We present an augmented cognition (AugCog) system that utilizes two sources to assess cognitive state as a basis for actions to improve operator performance. First, continuous EEG is measured and signal processing algorithms utilized to identify patterns of activity indicative of high cognitive demand. Second, data from the automobile is used to infer the ongoing driving context. Subjects participated as eleven 2-person crews consisting of a driver/ navigator and a commander/gunner. While driving a closed-loop test route, the driver received through headphones a series of communications and had to perform two secondary tasks. Certain segments of the route were designated as threat zones. The commander was alerted when entering a threat zone and their task was to detect targets mounted on the roadside and engage those targets To determine targeting success, a photo was taken with each activation of the trigger and these photos were assessed with respect to the position of the reticle relative to the target. In a secondary task, the commander was presented a series of communications through headphones. Our results show that it is possible to reliably discriminate different cognitive states on the basis of neuronal signals. Results also confirmed our hypothesis: improved performance at the crew level in the AugCog condition for a secondary communications tasks, as compared to a control condition, with no change in performance for the primary tasks.

Impact of overnight traffic noise on sleep quality, sleepiness, and vigilant attention in long-haul truck drivers: Results of a pilot study

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of traffic noise along the motorway on sleep quality, sleepiness, and vigilant attention in long-haul truck drivers. This was a randomized, crossover, within-subject controlled study. Healthy long-haul truck drivers spent 6 consecutive nights in a real truck berth with full sleep laboratory equipment. During 3 nights, subjects were exposed to replayed traffic noise alongside motorways, whereas the other 3 nights were without traffic noise. Polysomnography was recorded during the nights and numerous sleepiness tests and vigilance examinations were performed during the following standardized working day. Outcome measures were compared between noisy and silent nights using the paired Wilcoxon test. Ten healthy long-haul truck drivers with a mean age of 36.3 ± 7.3 years completed the study as planned. On noisy nights, subjects had greater latencies to the rapid eye movement (REM) phase (90 ± 32 min vs 69 ± 16 min, P = 0.074) and higher percentages of sleep stage 1 (13.7 ± 5.5% vs 11.2 ± 4.4%; P = 0.059). Subjects also rated their sleep quality as having been better during nights without noise (28.1 ± 3.7 vs 30.3 ± 6.2, P = 0.092). The impact of these differences on daytime sleepiness and vigilance was rather low; however, mean Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) scores measured during the course of the following day were higher on six out of eight occasions after noisy nights. The effects of overnight traffic noise on sleep quality are detectable but unlikely to have any major impact on the vigilant attention and driving performance of long haul-truck drivers with low nocturnal noise sensitivity. This might not be true for subgroups prone to sleeping disorders.

Musik als vitalisierende und entspannende Maßnahme im Kraftfahrzeug

Das Fahren eines Lastkraftwagens kann eine monotone und somit fur den Fahrer ermudende Aufgabe sein. Diese Studie stellt ein Programm vor, das entwickelt wurde, um diesem Ermudungsprozess entgegenzuwirken. Durch den gezielten Einsatz von Musik, die an den Fahrer angepasst ist, kann die Konzentrationsfahigkeit und Aufmerksamkeit des Fahrers entweder aufrecht erhalten werden oder in stressigen Fahrsituationen Beruhigung schaffen und somit eine deutliche Steigerung der Fahrsicherheit bewirken. Daruber hinaus werden weitere Komponenten vorgestellt, die das Fahren eines Lastkraftwagens komfortabler, gesunder und abwechslungsreicher gestalten, indem den Lastkraftwagenfahrern durch eingebaute Sportgerate in der Fahrerkabine Bewegungsmoglichkeiten in ihren Pausen ermoglicht werden. Eine beispielhafte Umsetzung hiervon zeigt sich im Rahmen des Gesamtkonzeptes TopFit Truck.