Eye-tracking metrics for estimating workload and characterizing errors in conflict detection and resolution during simulated en route air-traffic control.

ABSTRACT: Growing traffic density and airspace complexity demand adaptive decision-support tools that anticipate when controllers are approaching overload or conflicts are mishandled. Ocular behavior offers a single, unobtrusive stream that simultaneously reflects global mental workload (MWL) and moment-to-moment attentional allocation. The present study examined whether eye-tracking metrics can estimate MWL and expose the mechanisms underlying errors in conflict detection and resolution during simulated en route control. Twenty-four novice participants worked six 16-min radar scenarios that varied traffic load and sector complexity. A remote eye-tracker recorded pupil diameter, blink dynamics, and fixations on static and aircraft-centered areas of interest, while subjective MWL was sampled with the

SUBMITTER: Navia JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12729096 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature