An Investigation of Medevac Air Crew Cognitive Workload: Using Imprint to Assess the Impact of Model Granularity and Automation
Abstract
The Army Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program is developing a new generation of helicopters. The Holistic Situational Awareness Decision Making (HSA-DM) project supports the FVL program by investigating technologies that can aid in designing, developing, and integrating systems aimed at managing the cognitive workload of pilots. This study aims to determine how a models granularity and the automation of certain tasks affects the pilot and co-pilots cognitive workloads. Cognitive walkthroughs and interviews were conducted with five military helicopter pilots to elicit task workload values. An existing Improved Performance Research Integration Tool (IMPRINT) model from a previous study was modified by increasing its granularity, then both models were altered by automating selective tasks, resulting in four distinct models. Each model was run ten times. Average cognitive workload and workload spikes were analyzed for both the pilot and co-pilot. The average cognitive workload was highest for the pilot in the more granular model as greater model granularity contributed to higher spikes. Automation added to the more granular model resulted in the greatest reduction of pilot workload. This analysis establishes a repeatable framework for future studies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1213122
Entities
People
- Austin Jr Forsythe
- Lindsay E. Keel
- Matthew Brooks
- Wilson K. S. Chiu
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School