Psychophysical State Aspect during UAV Operations

Abstract

The development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the increasing air traffic of these devices make it necessary to pay attention to the issue of the human factor in UAV operations. In this article, tests were conducted in real conditions on the unmanned aerial vehicle operator’s (UAVO) psychophysical state during training. The parameters of the human cardiovascular system, and more specifically the heart rate variability (HRV), were used to conduct research and analysis. The purpose of this research is to elaborate the typical HRV parameters for student operators during UAVO training. These reference values could be used during UAVO training to assess candidates’ psychophysical state objectively and could allow for the monitoring of operators’ state and management of their cognitive load. Monitoring operators’ state may have a positive impact on increasing training effectiveness. Research confirmed the thesis that HRV parameters are significantly different during performed tasks with cognitive load and can be used to assess candidates’ psychophysical state objectively. This can help flight instructors perform student assessment, meaning that they would not have to rely only on their subjective feelings.