Development of Saccade Length Index of Taskload for Biocybernetic Application
Abstract
The idea which prompted the present research was that biological events may be predictive of the attentional and task demands of work. If these could be analyzed in real time and fed back to the machine (or operator), a truly biocybernetic system could be created. A nonintrusive reliable measure of individual differences such as attention during monitoring and control tasks has obvious biocybernetic relevance, particularly in dynamic environments and for design of equipment. Two investigations were performed to assess the feasibility of using specific characteristics of eye movement saccades as unobtrusive indicants of mental workload. Eye movements were measured while subjects were differentially task loaded by simple, moderate, and complex auditory tone counting. The results indicated that the extent of saccadic eye movements varied inversely in subjects as tone counting complexity increased. Saccade length; Mental workload; Human performance; Biocybernetics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA205199
Entities
People
- James G. May
- Jennifer E. Fowlkes
- Marshall B. Jones
- Robert S. Kennedy