Oculometric Assessment of Human Risk Factors in Military Aviation

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Medicine
• Human Factors Engineering
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Aviation safety relies on pilot neurophysiological state, which influences perception and sensorimotor control.
• Traditional risk management in military aviation uses self-reported human factors, introducing potential uncertainty.
• Neurophysiological effects of factors like sleep deprivation and stress are critical but difficult to quantify objectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an objective, automated, eye-movement-based (oculometric) method for assessing neurophysiological variability in military aircrews.
• To explore the relationship between oculometric measures and established risk management variables.
• To determine if eye-tracking technology can provide a more reliable assessment of human factors in aviation.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 72 military aircrew members from diverse airframe communities (RQ7B, AH64, CH47, H60).
• Utilized a validated oculometric assessment to quantify performance on a visual motion tracking task.
• Collected demographic and operational risk management data, including sleep, stress, and flight hours, alongside oculometric measures.

Main Results:

• Significant effects of aircraft type on oculometric performance were observed, with the H60 community showing above-normal scores.
• Oculometric performance was significantly influenced by sleep, stress, and pilot experience.
• Positive correlations were found between oculometric scores and both age (r=0.31) and total flight hours (r=0.30).

Conclusions:

• Eye-movement-based techniques can objectively measure aspects of human factors risk in aviation.
• Automated oculometric assessment offers a potential objective alternative to subjective pilot self-reporting.
• This technology could enhance the accuracy and reliability of neurophysiological state assessment in military aviation.