A Systematic Approach for Engagement Analysis Under Multitasking Environments

Abstract

An overload condition can lead to high stress for an operator and further cause substantial drops in performance. On the other extreme, in automated systems, an operator may become underloaded; in which case, it is difficult for the operator to maintain sustained attention. When an unexpected event occurs, either internal or external to the automated system, a disengaged operation may neglect, misunderstand, or respond slowly/inappropriately to the situation. In this paper, we discuss a systematic approach monitor for extremes of cognitive workload and engagement in multitasking environments. Inferences of cognitive workload ar engagement are based on subjective evaluations, objective performance measures, physiological signals, and task analysis results. The systematic approach developed In this paper aggregates these types of information collected under the multitasking environment and can provide a real-time assessment or engagement.