Assessing the Performance Impact of G-Forces: Design of the Acceleration Performance Assessment Simulation System(A-PASS).

Abstract : A performance assessment system for use on a man-rated centrifuge is discussed. The problem of measuring human performance during high G flight simulation is addressed. This research addressed the fundamental problem of using laboratory data to assess the operational military impact (OMI) of physiological stresses. First, a battery of flight task simulations was conceptualized, based on current performance assessment theory. Second, a procedure was demonstrated for converting laboratory measures from this battery into measures of OMI. Specifically, performance data were entered into high-fidelity computer models of aircraft missions, yielding estimates of the military impact of stressors on human performance (e.g., kill probability, circular error - CEP, survivability, etc.). In the pilot demonstration, the effect of a hypothetical stressor on a pop-up air-to-ground maneuver in the F4E aircraft was evaluated. In the undegraded state, the CEP was 25.0 feet (S.D. 10.8 feet). In the degraded state, the CEP was 50.1 feet (S.D. 21.9 feet). This demonstration proved the feasibility of providing operationally meaningful metrics based on laboratory performance data.