Assessment of pilot stress based on functional near-infrared techniques

Abstract

Excessive stress levels can lead to fluctuations in pilot operating techniques, decreased quality of work, increased errors, impulsive behavior, and communication difficulties, resulting in reduced pilot coping ability to the environment, behavioral disorders, and flight accidents. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cerebral blood oxygen characteristics of pilots before and after stress and the relationship between this characteristic and their antiglare performance by functional near-infrared techniques (fNIRs), and to establish an index for the evaluation of pilots' stress response. A total of 15 pilots were recruited in this study, and the stress of the pilots was induced by spin ladder training, while the cerebral blood oxygen of the pilots was collected simultaneously by fNIRs. It was found that the difference in HbO2 between the left and right brain regions was significantly different before and after the stress stimulation caused by spin-ladder training, and the difference in HbO2 was elevated by 0.072 (p ⪅ 0.05) after the stimulation. In contrast, the difference in Hb decreased by 0.068 (p ⪅ 0.05) after the stimulation. Furthermore, the value of the change in HbO2 showed a significant negative correlation with the level of anti-vertigo in the subjects: r = -0.925, p ⪅ 0.01. The results of this study can be used to indicate the level of rotational stress in pilots and to predict and assess the anti-glare potential of flight trainees.