A Proposed Methodology to Assess Cognitive Overload using an Augmented Situation Awareness System

The US Army is tasked with providing the best tools to keep military personnel at peak performance. These tools can be found in many forms: small arms, protective clothing, armored vehicles, and communication devices, etc. However, understanding when a person is cognitively overloaded does not have such a tool. Cognitive overload is nothing new, yet it is not well understood. This paper discusses cognitive overload, why it is critical to military performance, past efforts, and focuses on a methodology to assess cognitive overload using a deployed augmented situation awareness (SA) system. We will employ a currently used SA system to assess cognitive overload through an additive process designed to identify when overload occurs and performance drops. Understanding when cognitive overload occurs is critical to Soldier survivability and offsetting it before it becomes a detriment is key. We will discuss our methodology assessing when cognitive overload occurs and potential mitigation strategies.