| Scientists at NASA LaRC have researched
and developed technologies using physiological measures
for assessing sustained attention, engagement,
awareness and pilot stress, in laboratory flight
simulators. Biomedical spin-offs have
emerged from this work through collaboration with
medical centers. S.M.A.R.T BrainGames is a spin-off turning years
of NASA biomedical and scientific research
into an effective and fun experience for children
and adults.
NASA scientists measured pilot's attention and
engagement to task in flight simulators. One of
the scientists recognized that a flight simulator
was very similar to a video game. He then came
upon the exciting concept of using real video
games controlled by the player's brain activity.
S.M.A.R.T BrainGames
is the result.
NASA scientists measured pilot's attention and
engagement to task in flight simulators. One of
the scientists recognized that a flight simulator
was very similar to a video game. He then came
upon the exciting concept of using real video
games controlled by the player's brain activity.
S.M.A.R.T.
BrainGames is the result.
NASA conducted a research study on children with
ADHD. View the research video to find out how
kids playing video games can drastically improve
their awareness.
Excessive sympathetic autonomic nervous system
(ANS) arousal can interfere with task performance
of pilots during flight emergencies. Regular biofeedback
training is hard to apply to this problem, because
it is very situation-specific and biofeedback
signals may distract the pilot from attention
to flight tasks. NASA LaRC and Eastern Virginia
Medical School are developing a Stress Counter-Response
Training method where biofeedback is integrated
directly into ordinary flight tasks. Training
aims at limiting deviations from optimal arousal
levels through feedback during repeated stressful
events in simulated flight.
With increased sophistication in technology,
human performance has increasingly become a limiting
factor in aviation safety. Both inattention
and stress overload play a substantial role in
impairing pilot performance and producing flight
hazards. Biofeedback training can foreseeably
help reduce the occurrence of these "hazardous
states of awareness" by teaching pilots to
maintain the necessary physiological conditions
for good cognitive and psychomotor performance
under the circumstances which are most likely
to produce inattention or dysfunctional stress.
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