A team of researchers is developing a portable system that will use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure a person’s brain activity on the go.
The applications for fNIRS could be endless, ranging from training air traffic controllers and drone operators to studying how students with disabilities can learn best.
“This is a new trend called neuroergonomics. It’s the study of the brain at work – cognitive neuroscience plus human factors,” said Hasan Ayaz, associate research professor at Drexel University.
The phrase “neuroergonomics” was coined by the late Raja Parasuraman, former professor at George Mason University and the co-author of the study. Until now, most studies involving fNIRS have taken place indoors. However, a group of Drexel biomedical engineers have now collaborated with researchers at George Mason University to develop a portable fNIRS system that works with Google Glass.
The researchers were successfully able to measure the brain activity of participants navigating through a college campus and published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
The researchers wanted to compare one group of participants navigating through campus with Google Glass to another group using Google Maps on an iPhone. They found that overall users with Google Glass had a higher situation awareness and lower mental workload than their peers navigating with an iPhone. However, it was found that the users wearing Google Glass focused their attention on the display and ignored other aspects of their surroundings.
“What we were able to see were the strengths and weaknesses of both. Now that we know we are able to capture that, we can now improve their design,” said Ayaz.
“We will be able to analyse how the brain is functioning during all of these natural activities that you cannot replicate in artificial lab settings,” the researchers said.
fNIRS is a way to measure oxygenation levels in the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, cognitive expression and personality development.
