DYSFUNCTIONS

A MONITORING AND DECISION SYSTEM IS PROPOSED TO MEASURE THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL PARAMETERS OF A SOPHISTICATED VEHICLE (E.G. BATTLE TANK, HELICOPTER, ETC.) OPERATOR, AS WELL AS MOTION PARAMETERS OF THE VEHICLE, TO ASSESS A STATE OF OPERATOR PARTIAL OR COMPLETE DISABILITY, SUCH THAT VEHICLE CONTROL COULD BE TRANSFERRED APPROPRIATELY TO AN AUTOMATIC GUIDANCE SYSTEM. CANDIDATE PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS ARE DISCUSSED AND TRANSDUCERS FOR THEIR MONITORING IDENTIFIED.A NEED FOR CAREFUL INTEGRATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE SENSOR READINGS TO AVOID FALSE DECLARATIONS OF DISABILITY IS EMPHASIZED. VEHICLEPARAMETERS (SPEED, HEADING, PRIOR TRACK, ACCELERATIONS, ALTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ETC.) ARE ALSO DISCUSSED. BEHAVIORAL SENSORS COULD FUNCTIONIN A FEEDBACK LOOP REQUIRING THE OPERATOR TO RESPOND TO SYSTEM QUERIESIN A MANNER THAT DEMONSTRATES ALERTNESS, RATIONAL CAPABILITY AND PHYSICAL COORDINATION. ADDITIONALLY, BEHAVIOR ABNORMALITIES COULD BE DETECTED BY HIS FAILURE TO CARRY OUT SCHEDULED FUNCTIONS OR A PRESCRIBED VEHICLE EVOLUTION. A MICROPROCESSOR COMPUTER INTEGRATES THE SENSOR READINGS AND ASSESSES, CONTINUOUSLY, THE OPERATOR'S FUNCTIONAL STATUS. ALGORITHMS FOR THIS PURPOSE SHOULD POSSESS INDIVIDUAL SENSOR THRESHOLDS AND PRIORITY RATINGS THAT ADAPT TO THE SCENARIO AND THE ENVIRONMENT. A MULTI-STEP DECISION PROCESS INVOLVING OPERATOR ALERT, DEMAND FOR AND EVALUATION OF OPERATOR RESPONSE, AND CONTROL TRANSFER IS SUGGESTED.