Modeling performance and alertness: the QinetiQ approach

The basis of the QinetiQ alertness model used at the heart of the System for Aircrew Fatigue Evaluation (SAFE) free-standing software tool is described. A number of extensions to the basic model that are applicable to the civil aviation environment are outlined, based on the analysis of eight studies involving sleep diaries gathered from pilots undertaking a range of duty schedules. The relationship between subjective alertness and performance of laboratory tasks is described and it is concluded that different tasks are affected differentially by fatigue. In general, there is a larger impact on the incidence of errors than on response time. The implementation of the full model in the Integrated Performance Modeling Environment is described and the application of both the alertness and performance models to two scenarios provided by the workshop organizers is outlined. It is concluded that further work is needed in three areas: cumulative fatigue, the impact of sleep architecture, and the prediction of performance for complex tasks in systems.