A Simulation Dashboard to Monitor Cognitive Workload during Dismounted Military Operations

The rapid development and adoption of new technologies (i.e. advanced sensor and communication platforms and monitoring devices) changes the way soldiers operate in the field. A concern frequently expressed by soldiers and commanders, is the increasing demand that technology places on the cognitive resources of dismounted soldiers. Such cognitive workload (CW) has been termed the 'major bottleneck' for efficient and effective military operations due to the increased usage of technology, which is often not properly attuned to differences in activities, individual differences or the operational environment. To effectively mitigate and manage CW for dismounted soldiers, insight is needed into which factors influence CW and which mitigation strategies are effective. This paper presents a prototype simulation dashboard to create this insight for military commanders at operational levels (platoon, company). An underlying conceptual model of CW during military operations is created, using a holistic perspective that integrates cognitive, physical and psychosocial factors of influence. Input for this model is gathered from scientific literature and expert knowledge from the cognitive, physical and psychosocial domain. The model specifies relevant factors and their interrelations as well as mitigation strategies to reduce CW. The simulation dashboard enables users to specify mission, environment and human parameters and to monitor cognitive workload during a simulated military operation. This research demonstrates that it is feasible to (1) create a conceptual model of CW from a multidisciplinary perspective and (2) connect the model to a dashboard to communicate insights into CW to a targeted audience.