Impact of Situation Awareness Variations on Multimodal Physiological Responses in High-Speed Train Driving

Area of Science:

• Human Factors Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Transportation Safety

Background:

• Human error, particularly loss of situation awareness (SA), is a major cause of accidents in safety-critical fields.
• Accurate SA assessment is crucial for mitigating risks and ensuring operational safety.
• Physiological signals, like EEG, offer a promising non-invasive method for continuous SA monitoring, but accurate SA labeling remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design an effective SA measurement paradigm tailored for high-speed train driving.
• To investigate improved methods for physiological signal-based SA labeling.
• To explore correlations between SA levels and physiological metrics within the developed framework.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 19 male high-speed train driver trainees.
• Developed a specific SA measurement paradigm for high-speed train operations.
• Utilized a combined approach of subjective SA ratings and task performance for accurate SA labeling.

Main Results:

• Validated the paradigm's effectiveness in inducing SA level variations.
• Identified significant relationships between SA levels and physiological metrics.
• Observed correlations with eye movement, ECG (heart rate variability), and EEG (theta, alpha, beta bands).

Conclusions:

• Multimodal physiological signals are effective for SA assessment.
• Provides a theoretical basis for SA monitoring in railway operations.
• Contributes to enhancing overall operational safety in the railway sector.