The Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Pointing Device For a Wearable Computer

U.S. Air Force special tactics operators at times use small wearable computers (SWCs) for mission objectives. The primary pointing device of a SWC is either a touchpad or trackpoint, embedded into the chassis of the SWC. In situations where the user cannot directly interact with these pointing devices, the utility of the SWC is decreased. We developed a pointing device called the G3 that can be used for SWCs used by operators. The device utilizes gyroscopic sensors attached to the user’s index finger to move the computer cursor according to the angular velocity of his finger. We showed that, as measured by Fitts’s law, the overall performance and accuracy of the G3 was better than that of the touchpad and trackpoint. These findings suggest that the G3 can adequately be used with SWCs. Additionally, we investigated the G3\u27s utility as a control device for operating micro remotely piloted aircrafts

Development of an Advanced Net‐Centric Communication Management Suite: Multi‐Modal Communication

Even with advanced collaborative technology, communication remains a critical component to the success of a mission. Command and Control (C2) operators rely heavily on radio and chat communication to efficiently plan, direct, coordinate, and control assets. With the shift towards network‐centric warfare, standard radio communication needs to meet the needs of today’s warfighter. A net‐centric communication management suite called Multi‐Modal Communication (MMC) has been developed to increase the performance and situational awareness of the operator while also alleviating the workload and errors associated with this communication intensive environment. This integrated system captures, displays, records, and archives radio and chat‐based communication to better equip the warfighters by providing instant access to past transmission as well as increasing the intelligibility of current messages. This poster and demonstration explores the development and testing of these advanced tools as compared to standard radio and chat interfaces. This study examined the performance associated with monitoring multiple communication channels with access to different tools. Performance was analyzed in regards to message detection, response accuracy and time. Data showed that MMC provides a balance between the speed of radio listening and the accuracy and datacapturing capabilities of chat displays. MMC can be a beneficial tool to C2 operators in its ability to increase intelligibly while providing a persistent, searchable visual display of voice and chat communication

Team Vigilance: The Effects of Co-Action on Workload and Stress

Operator vigilance is a vital concern to the Air Force in regard to cockpit monitoring, air-traffic control, and the supervisory control of unmanned aerial vehicles. A key interest is the performance of teams of observers because of the reliance of military operations on good teamwork. Previous literature has examined the efficacy of team vigilance performance by comparing the frequency of target detections by teams in comparison to those obtained by operators working alone. Team performance has consistently exceeded single-operator performance. The present study replicates this effect and provides the initial experimental investigation of the cost of being a team member. Results indicated that team members worked harder but reported less distress than single operators in the performance of a simulated UAV monitoring task

The independence and interdependence of coacting observers in regard to performance efficiency, workload, and stress in a vigilance task

Objective We investigated performance, workload, and stress in groups of paired observers who performed a vigilance task in a coactive (independent) manner. Background Previous studies have demonstrated that groups of coactive observers detect more signals in a vigilance task than observers working alone. Therefore, the use of such groups might be effective in enhancing signal detection in operational situations. However, concern over appearing less competent than one's cohort might induce elevated levels of workload and stress in coactive group members and thereby undermine group performance benefits. Accordingly, we performed the initial experiment comparing workload and stress in observers who performed a vigilance task coactively with those of observers who performed the vigilance task alone. Method Observers monitored a video display for collision flight paths in a simulated unmanned aerial vehicle control task. Self-reports of workload and stress were secured via the NASA-Task Load Index and the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire, respectively. Results Groups of coactive observers detected significantly more signals than did single observers. Coacting observers did not differ significantly from those operating by themselves in terms of workload but did in regard to stress; posttask distress was significantly lower for coacting than for single observers. Conclusion Performing a visual vigilance task in a coactive manner with another observer does not elevate workload above that of observers working alone and serves to attenuate the stress associated with vigilance task performance. Application The use of coacting observers could be an effective vehicle for enhancing performance efficiency in operational vigilance

Low-intensity focused ultrasound targeting the nucleus accumbens as a potential treatment for substance use disorder: safety and feasibility clinical trial

IntroductionWhile current treatments for substance use disorder (SUD) are beneficial, success rates remain low and treatment outcomes are complicated by co-occurring SUDs, many of which are without available medication treatments. Research involving neuromodulation for SUD has recently gained momentum. This study evaluated two doses (60 and 90 W) of Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound (LIFU), targeting the bilateral nucleus accumbens (NAc), in individuals with SUD.MethodsFour participants (three male), who were receiving comprehensive outpatient treatment for opioid use disorder at the time of enrollment and who also had a history of excessive non-opioid substance use, completed this pilot study. After confirming eligibility, these participants received 10 min sham LIFU followed by 20 min active LIFU (10 min to left then right NAc). Outcomes were the safety, tolerability, and feasibility during the LIFU procedure and throughout the 90-day follow-up. Outcomes also included the impact of LIFU on cue-induced substance craving, assessed via Visual Analog Scale (VAS), both acutely (pre-, during and post-procedure) and during the 90-day follow-up. Daily craving ratings (without cues) were also obtained for one-week prior to and one-week following LIFU.ResultsBoth LIFU doses were safe and well-tolerated based on reported adverse events and MRI scans revealed no structural changes (0 min, 24 h, and 1-week post-procedure). For the two participants receiving “enhanced” (90 W) LIFU, VAS craving ratings revealed active LIFU attenuated craving for participants’ primary substances of choice relative to sham sonication. For these participants, reductions were also noted in daily VAS craving ratings (0 = no craving; 10 = most craving ever) across the week following LIFU relative to pre-LIFU; Participant #3 pre- vs. post-LIFU: opioids (3.6 ± 0.6 vs. 1.9 ± 0.4), heroin (4.2 ± 0.8 vs. 1.9 ± 0.4), methamphetamine (3.2 ± 0.4 vs. 0.0 ± 0.0), cocaine (2.4 ± 0.6 vs. 0.0 ± 0.0), benzodiazepines (2.8 ± 0.5 vs. 0.0 ± 0.0), alcohol (6.0 ± 0.7 vs. 2.7 ± 0.8), and nicotine (5.6 ± 1.5 vs. 3.1 ± 0.7); Participant #4: alcohol (3.5 ± 1.3 vs. 0.0 ± 0.0) and nicotine (5.0 ± 1.8 vs. 1.2 ± 0.8) (all p’s < 0.05). Furthermore, relative to screening, longitudinal reductions in cue-induced craving for several substances persisted during the 90-day post-LIFU follow-up evaluation for all participants.DiscussionIn conclusion, LIFU targeting the NAc was safe and acutely reduced substance craving during the LIFU procedure, and potentially had longer-term impact on craving reductions. While early observations are promising, NAc LIFU requires further investigation in a controlled trial to assess the impact on substance craving and ultimately substance use and relapse

The Effects of a Net‐Centric Communication Tool on Communication Monitoring and Threat Detection

Command and Control (C2) operators rely heavily on radio and chat communication as well as tactical displays to efficiently plan, direct, coordinate, and control assets. The integration of information for the C2 operator is critical for mission success. This environment, which is communication intensive, imposes a high degree of workload on operators thus resulting in failures of detection or comprehension of critical messages. Multi‐Modal Communication (MMC) is a net‐centric communication management suite with advanced tools to better equip the warfighter in managing their communication. This study examined performance associated with monitoring communication channels, while also monitoring a dynamic tactical visual display for potential threat of enemy fire. Operators monitored and responded to the occurrence of critical signals presented during the 12‐min monitoring task. Performance was analyzed in regard to signal detection for both tasks while response accuracy and time were collected for the communication task. An overall detection score reflected a combined score of the number of critical messages and threats detected. Data showed that with the MMC tools operators detected more critical events in the communication and threat detection tasks as compared to a standard radio. Perceived mental workload as measured by the NASA‐TLX was also rated as lower in the MMC than radio condition. MMC can be a beneficial communication tool in its ability to aid C2 operators in communication management while allowing for greater performance on the monitoring of their tactical display

The Cognition of Multi-Aircraft Control (MAC): Proactive Interference and Working Memory Capacity

As the number of U.S. Air Force missions requiring UAVs has rapidly increased without commensurate increases in manpower, systems which permit a single operator to supervise and control multiple, highly-automated aircraft are being considered. The operator of such a system may be required to monitor and respond to voice communications for multiple UAVs, each of which can have aircraft specific call signs, which may impose excessive requirements on constrained operator attention, working memory, and cognitive processing. The current research investigates the cognitive load (number of aircraft call signs) an individual can handle and explores the effect of proactive interference (PI) within this application. The results indicate a reduction in performance as the number of call signs are increased from 5 to 7 in the presence of PI. Interestingly performance with 5 call signs without PI is lower than performance with 5 call signs in the presence of PI

Integrated Multimodal Communications Management for Airborne Command and Control

Increasing the communication efficiency and accuracy associated with Command and Control (C2) operations is crucial in many aerospace applications. This communication intensive environment imposes a high workload on Air Traffic Controllers and other C2 personnel who rely heavily on a variety of communication tools to efficiently plan, direct, coordinate, and control assets during missions. The C2 task is further complicated by the suboptimal integration of the various communication media utilized in the operational environment. The fielded communication tool suites have serious limitations and are not poised to meet the needs of advancing technology. A multidisciplinary research team in the Battlespace Acoustics Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory has developed the Multi-Modal Communications (MMC) tool suite which is specifically designed to increase communication effectiveness, provide efficient voice communication retrieval, navigation of saved data as well as reducing the perceived mental workload of the operators

Initial Design of a Multimodal Collaborative Mobile Application for Real Time Decision Making

Mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, are continually expanding their computational performance capabilities through improved processing, interconnectivity network abilities, resource management and ease of use user interfaces. As such they are gaining interestas a means tosupport on-the-move remote collaboration for military personnel executing real time decision making tasks. This paper focuses on a software-based implementation of a prototype multimodal Android application that was designed to capture and disseminate real time battlefield perspectives to distributed entities. Moreover the mobile application enables remote experts to interactively collaborate through multimodal functionality to provide directives to the mobile userthat should be applied to the local scene. The design of themobile application interaction is discuss as well as the results from aninitialdemonstration where remote guidance was present to a mobile user attempting to defuse an improvised explosive device. Additionally, we report future implementation capabilities and projected military usage