Presentation
Cue Validity Moderates Haptic Feedback Effects in Simulated Flight
SessionWednesday Poster Session
DescriptionThis study examined whether targeted haptic cueing enhances pilot situational awareness (SA) and performance in simulated flight, extending prior work by integrating eye-tracking (ET) and electroencephalography (EEG) to assess underlying attentional and cognitive mechanisms. Participants completed instrument flight patterns in a basic flight simulator. The experimental group received headset-based vibrotactile pulses when altitude deviated ±50 ft, repeating every 10s until corrected; a control group received an equivalent number of cues at random intervals.
Haptic cueing improved altitude control but reduced adherence to airspeed and heading. ET revealed greater fixation frequency and dwell time on the altimeter in the experimental condition, suggesting cue-driven attentional prioritization, while overall scan patterns remained largely stable. EEG results indicated higher workload and fatigue and lower engagement in the control condition.
Importantly, random cueing introduced false alarms, requiring control group participants to interpret cue validity. These likely increased cognitive demands, producing an oddball paradigm-like effect, limiting separation of haptic-driven responses from workload. We hypothesize that valid cues supported Level 1 SA (perception) by reducing uncertainty, whereas invalid cues degraded trust and increased processing demands. These findings emphasize the crucial role of cue validity in multisensory systems, suggesting that poorly mapped haptic feedback may hinder pilot performance.
Haptic cueing improved altitude control but reduced adherence to airspeed and heading. ET revealed greater fixation frequency and dwell time on the altimeter in the experimental condition, suggesting cue-driven attentional prioritization, while overall scan patterns remained largely stable. EEG results indicated higher workload and fatigue and lower engagement in the control condition.
Importantly, random cueing introduced false alarms, requiring control group participants to interpret cue validity. These likely increased cognitive demands, producing an oddball paradigm-like effect, limiting separation of haptic-driven responses from workload. We hypothesize that valid cues supported Level 1 SA (perception) by reducing uncertainty, whereas invalid cues degraded trust and increased processing demands. These findings emphasize the crucial role of cue validity in multisensory systems, suggesting that poorly mapped haptic feedback may hinder pilot performance.
Event Type
Poster
TimeWednesday, October 21st5:30pm - 6:30pm PDT
LocationSummit Pavilion