Investigating Mental Workload Changes in a Long Duration Supervisory Control Task

Abstract

With improving automation in many critical domains, operators will be expected to handle long periods of low task load while monitoring a system, and possibly responding to emergent situations. Monitoring the psychophysiological state of the operator during low task load may detect maladapted attention states in order to predict performance and facilitate a more effective workload transition during critical periods. This research explored the question of detecting anomalous attention states during transitions to high workload following extended periods of boredom using a non-invasive neuroimaging technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Subjects at the point of lowest engagement and priming had a diminished hemodynamic response and performed worse on missile defense task, showing fNIRS may be useful for concurrent monitoring of the operator in such settings.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 06, 2015
Accession Number
AD1015460

Entities

People

  • Erin T. Solovey
  • Lee B. Spence
  • M. L. Cummings
  • Mark Boyer

Organizations

  • MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Cognitive Workload
  • Computers
  • Demography
  • Detectors
  • Health Services
  • Human-Machine Interaction
  • Information Processing
  • Infrared Spectroscopy
  • Measurement
  • Neuroimaging
  • Oxygenation
  • Psychology
  • Simulations
  • Supervisory Control
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Vehicles

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Medical Imaging.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.