Individualized, Noninvasive Speech Indicators for Tracking Elevations in Stress (INSITES)

The complexity and round-the-clock nature of NASA operations in low Earth orbitnbsp;and future deep space missions, along with isolation in the hostile environment of space, can induce levels of acute and chronic stress that could compromise astronaut performance, leading to errors that could affect science payloads, crew safety and mission success. For the exploration of space a method is needed to assess operator state, quickly and reliably detect stress, and provide objective feedback to the individual, crew, and ground support, in order to mitigate adverse events and mishaps. We propose to develop a system that makes use of equipment that would be inherent to any spacecraft to identify Individualized, Noninvasive Speech Indicators for Tracking Elevations in Stress (INSITES). The goal of this INSITES project is to develop an unobtrusive, objective, and reliable detector of stress that measures changes in speech and vocalizations from equipment (microphones, communications systems, computers) used during operations, without requiring additional sensors or dedicated processing hardware. Under this project, Quantum Applied Science and Research (QUASAR) and the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) will define features in speech known to indicate stress, develop algorithms to extract these features from recorded audio streams, and adapt QUASARrsquo;s machine learning cognitive state classification software, QStates, to process these speech features in real-time from voice audio streams.nbsp; We will create models for stress based on these features, and provide a real-time visual output describing an individualrsquo;s stress level. The team will also develop the plans for software or hardware integration for a completed tool fornbsp;implementationnbsp;in NASA spacecraft and habitats to detect changes in stress acutely and over time. Doing so could potentially provide an opportunity to assess and intervene before it adversely impacts mission safety, effectiveness, or success.nbsp;