Abstract
This study investigated whether sub-auditory, infrasonic measures of vocal cord microtremors are sensitive to workload manipulations in a collaborative command and control task. Research participants performed 16 hours of simulated military command and control scenarios during which time task demand and access to collaborative tools were manipulated. NASA-TLX scores were used to assess subjective workload while infrasonic measures of vocal cord undulations were used as an objective measure of workload. The results of this study suggest that during high task demand trials infrasonic measures increased. In addition, during trials with access to collaborative tools that have previously been found to decrease subjective workload, infrasonic measures also decreased. Subjective workload scores and infrasonic measures were also found to correlate during trials. These results provide promising empirical evidence for the efficacy of this non-intrusive, non-invasive measure of operator workload.
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