MIT AgeLab & New England University Transportation Centre, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, E40-291, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Ergonomics. 2011 Oct;54(10):932-42. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2011.604431.
Physiological measures provide a continuous and relatively non-invasive method of characterising workload. The extent to which such measures provide sensitivity beyond that provided by driving performance metrics is more open to question. Heart rate and skin conductance were monitored during actual highway driving in response to systematically increased levels of cognitive demand using an auditory delayed digit recall task. The protocol was consistent with an earlier simulator study, providing an opportunity to assess the validity of physiological measures recorded during driving simulation. The pattern of change in heart rate with increased cognitive demand was highly consistent between field and simulator. The findings meet statistical criteria for both relative and absolute validity, although there was a trend for absolute levels to be higher under actual driving conditions. For skin conductance level, the pattern in both environments was also quite similar and a reasonable case for overall relative validity can be made. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Growing complexity and multiple demands on modern drivers' attention highlight the significance of determining whether physiological measures provide increased sensitivity in workload detection. Better understanding, including whether simulator assessments provide valid measures of real-world response patterns, has implications in evaluating and refining interface designs and for developing advanced workload managers.
生理测量提供了一种连续且相对非侵入性的方法来描述工作负荷。这些测量方法在多大程度上提供了比驾驶性能指标更敏感的信息，这一点更值得怀疑。在实际高速公路驾驶过程中，通过使用听觉延迟数字回忆任务，监测心率和皮肤电导率，以响应系统增加的认知需求水平。该方案与早期的模拟器研究一致，为评估在驾驶模拟过程中记录的生理测量的有效性提供了机会。随着认知需求的增加，心率的变化模式在现场和模拟器之间高度一致。研究结果在相对有效性和绝对有效性方面都符合统计学标准，尽管在实际驾驶条件下绝对水平有升高的趋势。对于皮肤电导率水平，两种环境中的模式也非常相似，可以合理地认为具有整体相对有效性。相关性说明：现代驾驶员的注意力越来越复杂，而且需要应对多种需求，这凸显了确定生理测量是否能在工作负荷检测中提供更高的灵敏度的重要性。更好地理解，包括模拟器评估是否能提供真实反应模式的有效测量，这对评估和改进界面设计以及开发先进的工作负荷管理器都具有重要意义。
