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A Pilot Mental Workload Case Study in a Full Flight Simulator

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Abstract

The present paper deals with the pilot mental workload estimation in a simulated fixed wing aircraft environment. A full flight simulator of the CESSNA C560 XLS is used to ensure a high fidelity flight experience in order to evaluate pilot performance. A noninvasive device is employed to get pilot ECG during simulated flight and in particular the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is analyzed to look for objective indices of workload level. Subjective measures based on NASA-TLX questionnaire are also considered to compare the HRV parameters estimation with the own pilot perception of workload level associated to each of the considered task. Results are presented and commented for two different flight segments: i) Take Off and Climb; ii) Approach and Landing.

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Abbreviations

NASA-TLX:

NASA Task Load indeX

SWORD:

Subjective WORkload Dominance

HR:

Heart Rate

ANS:

Autonomic Nervous System

HRV:

Heart Rate Variability

IBI:

Inter-Beat-Interval

SDRR:

Standard Deviation of R-R intervals

SDNN:

Standard Deviation of Normal R-R intervals

RMSSD:

Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences

SD1:

Standard Deviation of the Poincare plot perpendicular to the line-of-identity.

SDSD:

Standard Deviation of Successive Differences

LF/HF:

Low Frequency/High Frequency

FFS:

Full Flight Simulator

HDG:

Heading

ALT:

True Altitude

CAS:

Calibrated Air Speed

QNH:

Q code Nautical Height

ILS:

Instrument Landing System

TO:

Take Off

LF:

Level Flight

LCD:

Landing Gear Down

TD:

Touch Down

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Enna Facoltà di Ingegneria e Architettura, “Kore” - Università di Enna, Italy

    A. Alaimo, A. Esposito, C. Orlando & G. Tesoriere

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  1. A. Alaimo
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  2. A. Esposito
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  3. C. Orlando
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  4. G. Tesoriere
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Alaimo, A., Esposito, A., Orlando, C. et al. A Pilot Mental Workload Case Study in a Full Flight Simulator. Aerotec. Missili Spaz. 97, 27–33 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404762

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