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Phase 3 Study

Posted on 2021/09/29

Phase 3a of the study is underway, with pilot trials of wearable devices. The intent of phase 3 is to validate the reliability of sensors used in simulator trials in real world aircraft. Primary concerns are loss of data due to static interference within the cockpit, environmental issues (such as moisture and humidity), and mechanical interference due to air turbulence, ground taxiway runway vibrations, and water operations vibrations in seaplanes.

2021 Internships

Posted on 2021/01/12

Unpaid internships are available for the next phase of our research in 2021 in software, artifial intelligence, machine learning, and engineering dispciplines. Candidates should have strong development or engineering skills. Flight and/or maintenance experience is a plus. The next phase of research will focus on software/hard integrations in flight simulators and real world flying (sailplanes and seaplanes).

Internships

Posted on 2018/06/21

Unpaid internships are available for the next phase of our research through Affective Interactions, LLC. Candidates should have strong Java development experience. Preferred skills include familiarity with socket servers, BLE, Android SDKs,  hardware I/O,  and hardware integration. Familiarity with Flight and/or Flight Simulation is a plus. Candidates may be remote.

December Conference paper available

Posted on 2018/03/20

My December 2017 conference paper is now available for download in the IEEE Digital Library. Goto https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8323008/

Research Publication

Posted on 2017/09/29

The initial research study has been accepted for publication at the 3rd IEEE International Conference on Network, Communication and Computing, held 12/2017.

Moon, S.M. and Qu, Y. A Quantitative Approach for Determining Pilot Affective Patterns During Soaring Flight Simulation, in Computer and Communications (ICCC), 2017 3rd International Conference.

Participants Needed for Simulator & Flight Studies

Posted on 2017/09/14

We are preparing a new research study and need volunteer pilots of all backgrounds (glider, airplane, helicopter, balloon, or student pilots). Experiments will be conducted in glider, airplane, and seaplane simulators and gliders, airplanes, and seaplanes. Volunteers please send a message using the Contact Us link.

Research sessions may take from 30-90 minutes. Sessions will be begin in late September, 2017.

Current Study Concluded

Posted on 2017/05/23

My current study in concluded as my dissertaton defense was successful. I will be starting another series of experiments and will be soliciting a new batch of volunteer in the coming months.

Research Volunteers Needed:Non-Pilots and Pilots

Posted on 2017/03/02

Additional research subjects needed for an academic doctoral study on soaring flight, soaring simulation, and cognitive response to stress. No prior experience with simulators or computers is needed. Participants must be at least 18 years of age.

Participants needed for both the experimental group of glider pilots, and control groups of powered aircraft pilots and non-pilots.

The research is conducted at Long Island Airpark (NC26).

Research Simulator

Research Simulator

Participants in the study:

• Wear two wrist sensors while performing flight tasks in a soaring flight simulator
• Answer a series of questions prior to using the simulator to establish flight experience
• Answer a series of questions about their experience in the simulator at the conclusion of each session

All data collected is anonymized; no personal information will be published or released as part of the study. Research subjects may participate in up to 5 research sessions. Each session is estimated to take 45 to 90 minutes.

Please use the Contact Us link if you would like to participate.

Asymmetric EDA

Posted on 2017/01/21

Some unusual assymmetric EDA patterns emerged for some pilot volunteers and unusual SCL patterns also occured for other subjects. Ability to investigate this further was compromised by possible EDA signal loss on some sensors. This may result in some follow-up research once the dissertation study is complete.

Research Location now in North Carolina

Posted on 2015/09/13

The location for the research study have changed. It is now located at Long Island Airpark, in North Carolina. This airpark is on the north west shore of Lake Norman in Catawba County.

 
Participants are still eligible to win an Oudie or iPad through the end of 2015.

Seeking Pilots for Simulator Study

Posted on 2015/03/13

Research Simulator

Research Simulator

Research subjects needed for an academic doctoral study on soaring flight, soaring simulation, and pilot cognitive response to stress. Participants may be eligible to win an Oudie Flight Computer or iPad at the conclusion of the study. Student pilots welcome. No prior experience with simulators or computers is needed.

Participants in the study:

• Wear two wrist sensors while performing flight tasks in a soaring flight simulator
• Answer a series of questions prior to using the simulator to establish flight experience
• Answer a series of questions about their experience in the simulator at the conclusion of each session

All data collected is anonymized; no personal information will be published or released as part of the study. Research subjects may participate in up to 5 research sessions. Each session is estimated to take 45 to 90 minutes.

Participants have the option to receive one entry in a random drawing to win an Oudie or an iPad at the conclusion of the study (one per each flight task completed per session). Study will be concluded in 2015.

The simulator is located approximately 45-minutes from Seminole Lake Gliderport, in the Kissimmee, FL area. Update: The simulator is now located at Long Island Airpark in North Carolina. This airpark is on the west side of Lake Norman, in Catawba county. Participants who would like to fly into the airpark should call ahead for permission as this is a private unattended airport. See http://www.longislandairpark.org.

If you would like to participate in this study to benefit the soaring community, please contact the researcher to schedule a session. Day light hours are preferred, but timing is flexible. Student pilots are welcome to participate.

Researchers: Shannon Moon (doctoral candidate), Dr. Yanzhen Qu (dissertation supervisor)

Submit the contact form below and a researcher will call or email you back, typically within 24-48 hours.

  [contact_form]

Hysteresis and force sensors

Posted on 2014/05/21

I’ve encountered a problem with hysteresis and the Interlink FSR and Tekscan flexiforce sensors integrated into the flight controls. Over an extended period of time they are exhibiting up to 10% drift on measurements, the FSR slightly less than the flexiforce. It may be necessary to come up with a scaling model to address this drift.

Windows Kinect V2

Posted on 2014/03/03

K4W V2 Dev Preview

K4W V2 Dev Preview

Hardware acquisition and evaluation is moving quickly now.  I was accepted to the Kinect for Windows V2 Developer Preview program, in part due to previous work with the Kinect for Windows V1. I’ll be adding this to the hardware & API feasibility mini studies I am conducting for the next 1-2 months, to see what biosignal data for subject affect I can reliably acquire with the Kinect For Windows V2 Preview hardware and APIs.

eHealth Sensor Platform

Posted on 2014/02/25

E-Health Sensor Shield

E-Health Sensor Shield

I have identified an interesting hardware option for building a portable system for the bulk of the sensor/data gathering needed to determine pilot affect: the open source eHealth Sensor Platform. It is Arduino or Raspberry Pi based, and offers a rudimentary API for data gathering from  sensor like:

  • Pulse Oximeter (heart rate and blood oxygen saturation)
  • Electrocardigram sensor (ECG and heart rate)
  • Galvanic Skin Reponse Sensor (GSR – sweating)
  • Electromyogramphy Sensor (EMG)
  • Sphyganomater (Blood Pressure)
  • Airflow sensors (Breathing)
  • Accelerometer (Subject Position)

It also offers a variety of connectivity options in terms of data transport (USB, serial, 3G, GPRS, Bluetooth, 802.15.4, and ZigBee). I’ve ordered the platform and several sensors to evaluate their performance for use in my research. It’s potentially a good fit, as the flexiforce sensors I have decided to utilize are also Arduino/Raspberry Pi based.

EEG Hardware

Posted on 2014/02/02

I’ve identified two potential headsets for EEG data acquisition. Over the course of the next several months I will be evaluating each.

Neurosky Mindwave EEG

Neurosky Mindwave EEG

 

The Neurosky MindWave is a relatively inexpensive ($99) option, but is limited in that it does not have APIs for raw access to EEG data, only to am affect model developed by the manufacture. It also utilized only two EEG sensors, so it is somewhat limited in its reporting options.

Emotiv EEG

Emotiv EEG

The Emotiv EEG headset is a more expensive option (at $250 or $750 depending on licensing), but it utilizes a 16 sensor setup and has APIs for raw EEG data as well as affective models developed by the manufactures., including an api for interpreting facial expressions, emotional states, and subject intent.