Analysis of Pilot’s Cognitive Overload Changes during the Flight

Abstract

The number of tasks performed by the operator increases the cognitive load. Its uses pilot’s resources needed to properly perform the task, the so-called cognitive resources. This term refers to the degree of cognitive resource involvement in the current activity of the entity. Depending on the complexity of the task, the consumption of cognitive resources increases. When the maximum consumption of resources is achieved, the cognitive system, which deals with coding, processing and ultimately reproducing information, is unable to compensate for the available task requirements by the available resources. Then it comes to the so-called cognitive overload. The effectiveness of performing tasks is initially constantly high, but as soon as the overload point is reached it begins to decrease rapidly. In this article research aimed at determining the impact of the intensification of actions on the pilot's cognitive load in a simulated flight were presented. The work introduces key concepts and presents the motivation for the undertaken work. The research methodology presents in detail the test stand – CKAS MS5 flight simulator, research group and tools used for analysis. The tests were divided into two groups: pre-flight verification tests and tests of increasing intensity carried out during the flight. The work was carried out at the Simulation Research Laboratory of the Poznan University of Technology. Based on the collected data, it has been proved that along with the intensification of the tasks imposed on the pilot, the level of his cognitive load also increases. Further inference leads to the conclusion that cognitive overload is one of the main reasons for pilots' mistakes. The linear relationship between experience and cognitive load has also been proven in the studied group. It was pointed out that the more experience in piloting and better knowledge of the piloted aircraft, the less load the operator is subjected to.