Study of Mental Workload Monitoring System for Simulator Exercise Using Physiological Indices

Abstract

The aim of our study is to develop a mental workload monitoring system to be adopted in ship handling simulator education. The mental workload monitoring system immediately evaluates and shows the mental workload responses of bridge team mates. In addition, it enables us to immediately instruct the beginners on professional maneuvering, which is why the mental workload monitoring system is effective for simulator education and attributes to safe navigation. To measure the mental workload we chose the heart rate variability which is known as one of the indices of mental workload. In this research, mental workload was measured by using two devices, a heart rate monitor and a patch type device. The patch type device is essential for the mental workload monitoring system because it immediately shows the mental workload of subjects. We needed to use the heart rate monitor to substitute for the patch type device because it is still under development. In this study, we compared and evaluated the mental workload responses between the beginners and professionals to ship handling events in simulators by mental workload monitoring system, and stored the data. This research presents the usefulness of mental workload monitoring system and finds some problems with the devices to develop that system.