Assessment of the situational awareness of unmanned aerial system operators using eye tracking methods
Bulgarian Medical Journal, 16, 2022,№ 3, 51-61.
L. Aleksiev1, D. Ivanova1, D. Aleksandrova1, Z. Hubenova2, K. Metodiev2, R. Nikolova3
1 Department of Aviation and Maritime Medicine, Military Medical Academy ‒ Sofia
2 Space Research and Technology Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences ‒ Sofia
3 Department of Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University ‒ Sofia
Abstract. The visual attention distribution during flight is a key element in assessing the level of operators’ initial preparation and acquired skills to operate an unmanned aerial vehicle. Three individuals with experience in operating unmanned aerial system (UAS) took part in the current research. The study consisted of two phases: in the first phase the operators conducted 10 experimental flights before being familiarized with the methodology for flight performance; the second phase included debriefing regarding the data retrieved from the eye tracking recordings and the errors that were made by the operator during flight in the first phase followed by explanation of the methodology with the aim to improve operators’ situational awareness during flight.
Key words: UAS operators, eye tracking, visual attention, situational awareness
Address for correspondence: Lyubomir Aleksiev, MD, e-mail: aleksiev@vma.bg