Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

Area of Science:

• Human-computer interaction
• Cognitive psychology
• Human factors engineering

Background:

• Skilled performance in man-machine control tasks is influenced by operator skill and mental workload.
• Understanding visual scanning patterns is crucial for assessing operator performance and cognitive load.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between operator skill, mental workload, and visual scanning performance in a simulated piloting task.
• To determine if visual scanning behavior can serve as an indicator of workload and skill level.

Main Methods:

• An experimental paradigm was developed to assess performance on a skilled man-machine control task.
• A secondary verbal mental loading task was introduced to manipulate cognitive workload.
• Visual scanning performance, including fixation dwell time, was measured during a simulated piloting task.

Main Results:

• Visual scanning patterns varied significantly with the difficulty of the mental loading task.
• Average fixation dwell time on the primary instrument increased with higher operator skill levels.
• Novice operators were more susceptible to performance decrements caused by the mental loading task compared to expert operators.

Conclusions:

• Visual scanning of instruments during controlled tasks can serve as a reliable indicator of operator workload.
• Scanning behavior differences between novices and experts suggest it also reflects skill level.
• The findings have implications for designing training programs and optimizing man-machine interfaces.