OU researchers studying air traffic controller heart, brain activity
OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) – To improve training and the focus of air traffic control trainees (ACT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tapped University of Oklahoma researchers to study their heart and brain activity. The hope is that it can help them understand how to teach them to handle everyday stressful situations.
"It's a complicated job. It can be very stressful," OU professor of psychology and lead researcher Dr. Eric Day said. "Air traffic controllers have a lot of demands on them."
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Working in the ATC towers is no easy gig. They help planes get off and onto the ground, manage traffic flow, and guide pilots while providing critical information. Day said they are researching the best ways to get them to focus in those moments.
"We really want to help these trainees get through the process and be successful," Day said.
The FAA is tapping OU for this study after Congress passed Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization to enhance the aviation workforce among other things. It will discover information about heart and brain related activity as they accomplish a task.
"We, at the same time measure their brains activity using this net," Day's colleague and fellow professor of psychology Michael Wenger said. "This has 128 electrodes on it that all sit on the scalp."
Wenger said they sit them at a desk and close the door to block out outside noise and light. Then, they have them play a first person shooter video game.
"We've been using this task for over a dozen years," Day said.
"Among the many things we're looking for is the way in which attention shifts when an unexpected event occurs," Wenger said.
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The person on the other side of the glass from them sees and gets readings on how a person deals with changes from an understood environment to a new and possibly stressful one. The hope is that they can translate what they learn into training to help future employees deal with an expanding number of scenarios as stress free as possible.
"It's pretty exciting," Day said.
The ATC training center is just 30 minutes from OU's campus. Day said they plan to deal with employees that train there as well as those that work in the field.
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