The CERF research team collaborated with several other researchers in the Augmented Cognition Program to demonstrate the feasibility of simultaneous data collection with various sensors such as EEG, fNIR, and cardiovascular arousal instruments. We brought our eye-tracking equipment to their location and tested multiple physiological measures simultaneously.

Blair Dickson, Kit Pleydell-Pearce, QinetiQ, Ltd, Farnborough, UK.
We did an extensive single-subject case study with Blair Dickson and his colleagues, using various tasks at the QinetiQ Farnborough, UK facility. The cornerstone task of the study was a gauges task developed by Professor Kit Pleydell-Pierce. The task consists of 40 1-minute trials, with each trial having 45 seconds of action and 15 seconds of rest. The eye data are very revealing, both in terms of point of gaze and of changes in dilation. Our initial results show that we are finding substantial EEG activity on tasks known to have high ICA. We are now planning two studies to be carried out in November. Both studies will combine the ICA with QinetiQ’s CogMon. The first study will test pilots on the flight simulator and the second study will test recruited subjects on the compulsory tasks used in the AugCog program.

Dan Davenport, Jody Daniels, Gerry Mayer, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratory on the USS Sea Shadow, San Diego, CA
We brought the eye-tracking equipment on board the USS Sea Shadow as part of LMATL’s baseline testing for operator’s performance during interruptions. This testing will be followed by additional testing in November when LMATL installs its new software for managing interrupts.
This collaboration promises to be an important first test of how the ICA can support the software development and evaluation process in an operational setting.

Don Tucker, Electrical Geodesics, Eugene, Oregon & Mark St. John, Pacific Science Engineering
We carried out a set of planned experiments with Don Tucker at Electrical Geodesics, Eugene, OR, using the Warship Commander Task developed by Mark St. John and David Kobus, PSE. The objective was to test the feasibility of collecting eye-tracking data simultaneously with the 256 channel EEG SensorNet used by Electrical Geodesics. Our pilot study was successful and we have planned a future study to investigate the extent to which EEG sensors and the Index of Cognitive Activity reflect the same events as they occur when an operator responds to the complex subtasks embedded in the Warship Commander.

Chris Berka, Advanced Brain Monitoring, Carlsbad, CA
This is a new collaborative undertaking between EyeTracking, Inc. (commercial arm of CERF) and ABM. Our colleagues at ABM have developed a wireless EEG system to detect four levels of alertness. They also have a cognitive battery they have validated for many subjects under various conditions of sleep deprivation. Together, we are combining the hardware of our eye-tracking system with their EEG sensors to produce an integrated headset.

Wilhelm Kinces, Daimler/Chrysler, Ulm, Germany
Presented a variety of projects they are undertaking, and demonstrated some of their products which are already implemented in automobiles. Klaus Mathiak shared a task that uses whole-head MEG to study hemispheric differences in pre-attentive auditory encoding that we have implemented in our lab and believe will be well suited for the AugCog compulsories.

Mark St. John & David Kobus, Pacific Science & Engineering, San Diego, CA
We have met several times to discuss development of a test battery for the Augmented Cognition Program. We have worked together in the past and we have a very strong collaborative relationship. As they develop components of their battery, we will test them in our lab.

Lucas Parra, Sarnoff Corporation & Jack Gelfand, Princeton University
Conducted joint research with Lucas Parra at Sarnoff Corporation and Jack Gelfand at Princeton University using a set of planned experiments that include the AugCog compulsory tasks. We explored the paradigms of EEG measurement proposed by Lucas Parra as part of his AugCog research effort. Working together, we will evaluate the feasibility of combining ICA and the multiple EEG sensor data. We will investigate the extent to which EEG sensors and the Index of Cognitive Activity reflect the same events as they occur when an operator responds to the very simple cognitive tasks.

Jeff Lubin, Sarnoff Corporation, Princeton, NJ
Conducted joint research with Jeff Lubin at Sarnoff Corporation using eye movement data and the Index of Cognitive Activity (ICA) to assist his development of software tools that enhance attention on vigilance tasks.

Eric Muth, Clemson University
We ran a full study with Eric Muth in his lab, testing 16 subjects on a variety of tasks. The eye-tracking portion of the study was very successful. We easily distinguished cognitive tasks from a resting task and a physical arousal task.

Martha Crosby, University of Hawaii
As a simple test of the ICA on someone else’s eye data, I evaluated data from one subject in an experiment run by Martha Crosby several years ago. The index performed very well; we were able to identify the easy and difficult trials very clearly. As a further test, I adapted her paradigm and tested an additional three people in my lab in San Diego.