Assessment of Augmented Operator's Mental Workload with Visual Assistive Technology in Simulated Rotorcraft Piloting Tasks

Assessment of operator support technology is of great concern in order to enhance pilots’ safety and performance. Accordingly, the development of the Terrain Obstacle Avoidance Display (TOAD) guidance system is a specific example of such technology, and the present study was conducted to examine if TOAD decreases the operator’s mental workload, allowing for better decision-making capacity under conditions of stress, such as that induced by diminished cues during exposure to degraded visual environments (DVE). Specifically, we examined rotorcraft pilots’ cognitive workload during simulated flight with this visual assistive technology to understand the impact of TOAD on mental workload under variable conditions of challenge using a suite of physiological sensors, subjective ratings of work and flight performance. Collectively, the results for the biophysiological markers and subjective ratings revealed a reduction of the pilot’s cognitive workload when flying with the assistance of TOAD relative to flight without such assistance. In addition, the employment of assistive technology resulted in a trend toward a greater reduction of collisions. Overall, the results provide evidence of the effectiveness of TOAD assistive technology to enhance pilot safety and performance.