Visual alerts for operator cognitive flexibility improvement: a neuroergonomic approach

This study investigates the mitigation of cognitive flexibility decrements during long-endurance Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) missions through visual alerts. UAS mishaps are likely partially attributable to decreased cognitive flexibility caused by mental fatigue. Two groups of participants performed a 2-hour UAS simulation. One group was supported by visual alerts when switching between tasks, while the other was not. To further investigate the effect of visual alerts, the participant’s cerebral and cardiac activity during the task was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG). Results showed a weaker subjective increase of mental fatigue across time with visual alerts than the control group. Furthermore, behavioural results showed improved reaction time and accuracy in some performance metrics. Future work may improve this system’s efficacy by implementing it with an adaptive interface.