Staffan Nählinder

Mental Workload in Aircraft and Simulator During Basic Civil Aviation Training

This study investigated mental workload in basic civil aviation training. Heart rate, eye movement, and subjective ratings from 11 students were collected during simulator and aircraft sessions. Results show high correspondence in psychophysiological reactions between the sessions. For some flight segments, heart rate was consistently lower in the simulator, suggesting higher mental workload in the aircraft. Differences in heart rate during rejected takeoff and engine failure indicate that the increase of workload starts in advance of an “unexpected” event in the simulator where it seems to be of preparatory nature, whereas in the aircraft it is more connected to management of the situation.This study investigated mental workload in basic civil aviation training. Heart rate, eye movement, and subjective ratings from 11 students were collected during simulator and aircraft sessions. Results show high correspondence in psychophysiological reactions between the sessions. For some flight segments, heart rate was consistently lower in the simulator, suggesting higher mental workload in the aircraft. Differences in heart rate during rejected takeoff and engine failure indicate that the increase of workload starts in advance of an “unexpected” event in the simulator where it seems to be of preparatory nature, whereas in the aircraft it is more connected to management of the situation.

The effect of decision-making training: results from a command-and-control training facility

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether training in a microworld had an effect on the decision-making process in a command-and-control training facility. Fourteen battalion commanders participated in the study. Prior to performing the main task in the command-and-control facility, seven participants (the experimental group) received training in the microworld. Seven participants (the control group) received no training before the main task. The results show that the experimental group performed better than the control group, measured by self-ratings and by fulfilling the instructors’ criteria. The experimental group displayed a different decision-making behaviour in the main task than the control group did. The results indicate that the experimental group used some behaviour characteristics they learnt during training, namely “working systematically” and “causal relationship”. Thus, the study shows that favourable behaviour was learnt in the microworld, and that behaviour was subsequently used in the command-and-control training facility.

A Meta Study of Transfer of Training

A Meta study of four empirical studies of simulator training was performed. The empirical studies were performed at a battle tank simulator, a combat vehicle simulator, an active sonar anti-submarine warfare simulator, and at a simulated command and control staff exercise of an international naval mine countermeasures mission. The combined number of participants in the Meta study made use of inferential and causal statistics possible. The results showed higher ratings of motivation/fun and effect on reality than fidelity. This suggests that a simulator can provide both motivating and valuable training even if it does not have very high fidelity. The casual analysis with LISREL provided a model showing that the feeling of involvement in the simulation influences the training in the simulator, which in turn has a positive influence on the transfer of training to real world performance. Since the analysis is based on amalgamated data from different studies with partly different conditions, site specific models may be different.

Reoccurring LISREL patterns describing Mental Workload, Situation Awareness and Performance

The main purpose of this paper is to present how LISREL models using subjective ratings is consistent over several studies. That is, the same pattern is repeated each time suggesting that the subjective ratings actually represent something stable and that the responses from the participants are true. The studies all include different subjects in different settings rating different subjective measures on different occasions, locations, and questionnaires. The ratings concern primarily the concepts “Mental Workload”, “Situation Awareness” and “Subjective Performance”.

Increasing Training Efficiency Using Embedded Pedagogical Tools in a Combat Flight Simulator

Many flight simulators today are made to provide a realistic environment for training. However, they often lack the possibility of providing pedagogical feedback to the person in training as well as feedback to any instructor leading the training. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the usefulness of several pedagogical tools embedded in a flight simulator and to examine their potential for increasing training efficiency. Twenty students and instructors from the Swedish Air Force Flying Training School volunteered in this study. Seven embedded pedagogical tools were assessed using questionnaires. There was a quite consistent opinion in favor of the pedagogical tools implying that the embedded pedagogical tools is the way forward in training simulator development. The results from the present study are believed to be equally valid in many other areas besides flight simulators.

Recording of Psychophysiological Data During Aerobatic Training

Measuring pilot mental workload can be important for understanding cognitive demands during flight involving unusual movements and attitudes. Data on heart rate, eye movements, EEG, and subjective ratings from 7 flight instructors were collected for a flight including a repeated aerobatics sequence. Heart rate data and subjective ratings showed that aerobatic sequences produced the highest levels of mental workload and that heart rate can identify low-G flight segments with high mental workload. Blink rate and eye movement data did not support previous research regarding their relation to mental workload. EEG data were difficult to analyze due to muscle artifacts.

A Cognitive Systems Engineering Perspective on Fighter Cockpit Design Evaluation

In this paper a method for evaluating fighter aircraft cockpit design solutions is suggested, taking into account the specific needs and limitations that come from working in the context of developing modern fighter aircraft cockpit design. In this context flight simulators are an essential tool for evaluation. A general problem when using simulators for evaluations is the amount of data generated, and how to approach this data. There is a need to develop methods to manage the data and extract relevant data in order to make it usable in the design and development process. The approaches described also aim at connecting the simulator data to the overall joint goals of the pilot-fighter-aircraft system in accordance with the CSE approach to systems development.

Training Effects in a Low Fidelity Combat Vehicle Simulator

A study of training effects in a combat vehicle simulator was performed at two occasions, first during the early part of the vehicle crews’ education and second during the later part. The focus of the study was on fidelity, presence, fun, motivation, feedback, learning in the simulator, and transfer of training. Learning in the simulator was rated highest at the early occasion; nevertheless both learning and transfer of training were rated relatively high at both occasions. This indicates positive training effects in a fairly simple low fidelity simulator. Finally a preliminary model of the causal relations between the aspects of training was created by structural equations modeling. The model indicates that the training environment (measured by rated feedback, presence, fidelity, motivation, and fun) had a positive influence on the training in the simulator (measured by rated learning in the simulator and transfer of training to the real combat vehicle).

Evaluation of Symptoms and Effects of Virtual Reality Based Flight Simulation and Enhanced Sensitivity of Postural Stability Measueres

In order to investigate level of experienced sickness symptoms in a VR based air combat simulator, a combined methodology was used. Before, during, and after simulation the participants repeatedly answered a VR sickness symptoms questionnaire (VRSQ). In addition, before and after simulation their postural stability was measured. In order to investigate if measurements of postural stability can be made more sensitive to changes in postural stability, during the measurements a sideways rolling wide angular visual flow was presented to half of the participants. Only low levels of VR-sickness symptoms and effects on postural stability were found. However, headache caused by the Head Mounted Display was a major concern for most participants. The presentation of a visual flow during the measurements of postural stability led to generally higher levels of postural instability, but did not increase the sensitivity of the measurements.