ABSTRACT
Automation is the future alternative for alleviating the perfonnance decrement that occurs when an operator in a military or civilian job becomes highly taxed with increased task load. Assessing the state at which automation is needed is pertinent to effectively creating adaptive systems. Self-report questionnaires, such as the NASA-TLX, are means for quantifying workload. However, questionnaires do not continuously evaluate workload state throughout the completion of a task. Instead, administration of such measures requires intemlplion to the task and thus would not be a useful invocation tool for adaptive automation. An alternative is the use of physiological measures such as Eye Tracking and Electrocardiogram. The present study sought to compare workload assessment instruments including the NASA TLX, Nearest Neighbor Index, Heart Rate Variability, and Interbeat IntervaL Physiological response results show promise for the future of adaptive systems.
