Peripheral Eye Tracking for Measurement of Military Pilot Performance

Abstract Flying plays a crucial role in establishing both tactical and strategic superiority through direct engagement, facilitating logistics movement, and providing other essential supports. However, a concerning trend has been observed regarding pilot flight time, which has decreased from approximately 300 hours per year to 230 hours per year. This decline could potentially impact flight safety and training, particularly in situations requiring rapid decision-making. One of the critical factors affecting rapid decision-making is a pilot's ability to closely monitor the aircraft's systems and flight path. The objective of this paper is to review and synthesize a series of studies that investigated the impact of peripheral gaze behavior on flying performance. Pilots can process peripheral eye gaze information more quickly and effectively, and peripheral eye movements could be used to activate controls faster than typical motor reflexes. Mathematical models of visual attention related to peripheral eye tracking have proven to be valuable predictive tools for human-machine interfaces and can lay the groundwork for improved training of pilots. Understanding gaze behavior offers valuable insights into the human-machine interface in modern cockpits. Keywords: Peripheral eye tracking, Pilot decision making, Human-machine teaming.