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Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-94/17
Title and Subtitle: Blink Rate As a Measure of Fatigue: A Review, ADA284779
Report Date: August 1994
Authors: Stern, J.A., Boyer, D., and Schroeder, D. J.
Abstract: Fatigue is one of many factors that can impact the ability of pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs) to maintain their performance across time. This review of the literature is an outgrowth of a study concerning the relationship between several gaze measures and time on task (TOT) performance of subjects on an ATC monitoring task. Blink rate is one of several psychophysiological measures that has been proposed to assess fatigue associated with TOT. The acrimonious debate between Luckiesh and Tinker and Bitterman is evaluated and that portion of Luckiesh's results dealing with increases in blink rate as a function of TOT is well substantiated by the results of most other investigations. Some evidence is presented that variables, other than TOT, also affect blink rate, as well as data suggesting that the nature of the blink (blink closure duration) may be affected by TOT effects. The development of improved methodologies for detecting attentional lapses or the impaired ability of operators to perform on perceptually and cognitively demanding tasks will allow us to conduct improved evaluations of the effectiveness of various fatigue countermeasures.
Key Words: Blink rate, Fatigue, Performance, Vigilance
No. of Pages: 16