Human factor in navigation: Overview of cognitive load measurement during simulated navigational tasks

Abstract

This paper is intended to give an overview of the experiments to evaluate the cognitive load of the officer on watch (OOW) during a collision avoidance maneuver in a full-mission simulator. The main goal is to investigate the possibilities of recording the biometric parameters of an OOW during a simulated collision avoidance maneuver. Potentially dangerous navigation errors known as human erroneous action (HEA) are induced by excessive cognitive load. Despite modern navigational aids on the ship’s bridge, investigators of maritime incidents typically link the reason for incidents at sea with human factors, including high cognitive load. During the experimental tasks on the bridge, the biometric parameters of the OOW are recorded. Statistical tools are used to visualize the data and evaluate the cognitive load of the OOW. Biometric peaks of the OOW typically occur either during the collision avoidance maneuver or when the OOW has been exposed to disturbing factors that increase reaction time and cause potentially dangerous navigation. Assessing the cognitive load of OOWs in the simulator is challenging for several reasons: e.g., the environmental conditions of the simulator, the type of task to be simulated, and even the type of sensor used. After careful study of the available literature, an original experimental design using non-invasive biometric sensors is proposed.