What makes a good aviator? Technical skill is essential, but the best aviators are also defined by their judgment, discipline, resilience and ability to perform under pressure.
For decades, military flight training has attempted to answer this question. Now, researchers at Old Dominion 91短视频 and Virginia Beach-based technology company Vectrona are working to turn the vast amounts of data collected on naval aviators into insights that could improve training and performance.
The project grew out of a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant awarded to Vectrona by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The company partnered with Old Dominion 91短视频 researchers to examine how physiological and psychological factors influence performance in high-pressure aviation environments.
The project also reflects Old Dominion 91短视频's commitment to partnering with industry to translate research into practical solutions, bringing faculty expertise together with business leaders to address real-world challenges with potential impacts on national security, workforce development and advanced training.
For Old Dominion 91短视频 alumnus Joe Gelardi (M.E.M. 鈥09), president and CEO of Vectrona and a former U.S. Navy pilot, the work is deeply personal.
Gelardi said the collaboration with the 91短视频 helped bring scientific structure to a problem flight instructors have long understood from experience.
Historically, flight instructors can readily identify student performance errors; however, in most cases they lack the insight to tell the student why they made the error or how to correct it. Vectrona envisions software that can provide aviators and trainers with meaningful feedback based on physiological and psychological indicators, as well as a future curriculum that helps aviators better understand how stress, fatigue and cognitive load influence decision making.
Vectrona brought in Helen Crompton, Ph.D., executive director of the Research Institute for Digital Innovation in Learning and professor of instructional technology and director of the Virtual Reality Lab at Old Dominion 91短视频. Dr. Crompton put together a multidisciplinary team of 91短视频 faculty, including Mary Still, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, and Demetrice Smith-Mutegi, Ed.D., assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning.
Understanding Performance Under Pressure
The research team examined cognitive factors such as attention, memory and situational awareness alongside physiological indicators including heart activity, stress responses and eye-tracking measures. They focused on how demanding flight conditions, such as fatigue, low-oxygen environments and high G-force exposure, affect the human body and mind.
鈥淭hese are important to provide intelligence behind which direction to go for future training, to learn from what has worked and what has not worked, to identify where to target,鈥 Dr. Crompton said.
The researchers analyzed how changes in attention, workload and decision making were reflected in measurable physiological responses.
鈥淚t is critically important to understand what happens when an aviator is in a stress-inducing situation,鈥 Dr. Still said. 鈥淢any of the studies involve putting aviators into challenging scenarios, such as disorientation, low-oxygen conditions or other high-stress situations.鈥
The team's review of existing research identified several promising tools for real-time monitoring and predicting performance, including electroencephalograms (EEGs), heart-rate variability, pupil dilation and eye tracking. While previous research has focused largely on identifying stress, the team wanted to understand how those measurements could be used to improve training.
From Data to the Classroom
The team also explored how those findings could be translated into future aviator training.
The review found feedback is more effective when delivered in real time, Dr. Smith-Mutegi said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to craft feedback carefully so it doesn鈥檛 become a distraction or add to the workload,鈥 she added.
Like in a traditional classroom, feedback that is timely, clear and tied to real-world situations helps aviators learn effectively.
Ultimately, the goal is to develop software and training methods that help instructors understand why aviators make mistakes 鈥 not just what mistakes they made 鈥 allowing for more personalized feedback based on physiological indicators.
The findings suggest aviation training should prepare aviators not only to perform technical procedures, but to manage stress, fatigue, high workload, disorientation and other human factors that affect performance.
鈥淚n practice, this means that trainers should incorporate more training scenarios that expose aviators to these challenging conditions in a controlled environment,鈥 Dr. Smith-Mutegi said.
Beyond the Cockpit
The scope of the project extends beyond traditional aviation as a third objective focuses on future applications for uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and drone operators, where cognitive endurance and rapid decision-making remain critical even without a physical cockpit.
The findings are helping Vectrona develop more targeted training strategies and feedback tools for aviators and instructors.
鈥淰ectrona鈥檚 unique treatment of physiological data is notable; those data not only reveal what students are able to do, but also reveal potential gaps in knowledge, lapses of attention, or ineffective prioritization,鈥 Dr. Crompton said.
The implications could be significant. The Navy may eventually be able to tailor training to individual needs and intervene earlier to improve overall safety 鈥 and these applications could be used in other high-stakes professions.
鈥淔or me, the most fascinating insight was that learning depends not only on what information is presented, but also on whether learners know how to direct their attention, manage cognitive demands and recognize the information that matters most,鈥 Dr. Smith-Mutegi said. 鈥淭his can be applied to learning to fly a plane, swimming or solving a complex math problem.鈥