Strategic Advantage in the sky. Gaming Expertise and Operational Efficiency: Unveiling the Lower Perceived Workload and Potential Benefits of Gamers as Drone Pilots

<title>Abstract</title> <p><bold>Background.</bold> Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) play a crucial role in modern military and civilian operations, requiring peak cognitive performance from their pilots. Drone pilots often experience attention lapses and performance reductions, which can jeopardize mission success, task performance, and their well-being. Existing research shows that video game players outperform non-gamers in certain cognitive abilities, such as visual tracking, attention, and mental rotation. This study explores how video game experience may shape the skills and workload perception of potential UAV pilots. <bold>Method.</bold> A pilot study was conducted with two groups: gamers (<italic>n</italic> = 22) and non-gamers (<italic>n </italic>= 29). Participants carried out simulated drone flight tasks using a <italic>Phantom 3 </italic>on the <italic>Aerosim RC</italic> simulator. Performance and workload were assessed using the AWT, a test derived from the NASA-TLX. <bold>Results</bold>. Significant differences were found between gamers and non-gamers in both performance and workload. The Mann-Whitney U test revealed that gamers completed the simulated flight tasks in less time (<italic>z =</italic> -4.168, <italic>p <</italic> .01) and made fewer errors (<italic>z =</italic> -4.690, <italic>p <</italic> .01) compared to non-gamers. Additionally, gamers reported significantly lower workload across all variables measured by the AWT.<bold> Discussion.</bold> The findings suggest that video game experience enhances drone piloting performance and reduces perceived workload. These results have implications for refining training and selection protocols for UAV pilots in both military and civilian contexts. Incorporating gaming-based assessments into the training process could provide a promising avenue to enhance UAV operator capabilities and mission success.</p>