Fourteen participants performed three continuous 11-min blocks of a mental-workload task (3-back) and an oddball version of this task.
Several studies have demonstrated that, when compared to classical numerical displays, graphical displays allow a faster detection of changes in physiologic variables, a more accurate diagnosis and/or a decreased mental workload [6].
There however remain a number of challenges in building a generalized mental workload recognition model, one of which includes the inability of an EEG-based workload classifier trained on a specific task to handle other tasks.
This allows developers to build modular applications, which can give richly informative services to the general public through a coherent and homogeneous multimedia HCI, that can be learned with a low mental workload.
However, eye blink behavior did not provide a clear mental workload signature when driving task demands and dual-task conditions were varied simultaneously.
It is particularly true in complex working environments (e.g. flight deck, air traffic control tower), where individuals have sometimes to cope with a high mental workload and stressful situations.
The study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety measured drivers' brainwaves while they were multitasking and found they had to cope with a heavier "mental workload" and distractions when using voice-to-text email features compared to talking on a cellphone, whether hand-held or hands-free.
Given the characteristics of their work, anaesthesiologists are reported to have a higher mental workload during night duty compared with many other physician groups working on call [ 11- 14].
In the last case, findings suggest that unreliability may be associated with a higher mental workload and situational ambiguity of the telephone context among older adults.
If the staffing level is not adaptive, the operators may have low situation awareness and an excessive mental workload, which lead to human error.
