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Evidence-Based Training and Adaptive Control: Exploring the Cognitive and Neural Processes and the Interface between the Pilot and Flight Control Systems (Work in Progress)

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Conference

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Tampa, Florida

Publication Date

June 15, 2019

Start Date

June 15, 2019

End Date

June 19, 2019

Conference Session

Aerospace Engineering Education

Tagged Division

Aerospace

Page Count

9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--32770

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/32770

Download Count

598

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Paper Authors

biography

Nithil Kumar Bollock Saint Louis University

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Nithil Kumar Bollock is a graduate assistant and Ph.D. student in the aviation department of SLU. Nithil graduated with his masters in Aviation Safety in 2015 from University of Central Missouri and Bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering from India. His research interests include Aviation Education, Human Factors, Diversity in Aviation, STEM and Learning theories in Aviation.

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Matthew Patrick O'Brien

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Yan Gai Saint Louis University, Parks College of Eng.

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Stephen M. Belt Saint Louis University

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Abstract

In support of a broader collaborative research initiative, proposed is a preliminary study which seeks to understand the cognitive and neural mechanisms of student pilots by observing them under various flight training situations. The objective of the study is to generate a pilot performance and EEG profile. This objective is achieved by observing the neural variations and responses in the mental states and the cognitive process involved in the behavior of the pilots during a flight session, and by correlating EEG and flight simulation data. This study involves collecting EEG, flight simulation and pilot behavioral data while pilots perform different flight maneuvers. EEG data is received through a 64-channel Electroencephalography headset. Flight parameters are obtained from the flight simulation software installed on an Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). Behavioral aspects of pilots are observed through the video recordings of flight simulation sessions. The collaborative research project seeks to understand the long-term neurological changes as an accumulative effect of flight training, to understand the cognitive and neural mechanisms of student pilots by observing them under various situations of flight training, and identification of pilot performances and tendencies. This project seeks to improve flight education strategies, enhance the integration of pilot and flight control systems, and to facilitate designs of adaptive controls for humans and machines to work harmonically. This collaborative research project is unique because first, it involves high fidelity experiments exploring neural functions and psychophysics carried out in real-training settings. Second, as compared with previous studies that focus on short-term physiological responses, usually in the form of steady-state brainwaves and transient evoked potentials, this study will derive neural metrics that correlate to the acquisition and accumulation of the pilots flying skills over a long period.

Bollock, N. K., & O'Brien, M. P., & Gai, Y., & Belt, S. M. (2019, June), Evidence-Based Training and Adaptive Control: Exploring the Cognitive and Neural Processes and the Interface between the Pilot and Flight Control Systems (Work in Progress) Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32770

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