Title: Estimation of air traffic controllers' fatigue based on the analysis of the human voice's fundamental frequency

Authors: José J. Cañas; Enrique Muñoz-de-Escalona; Patricia López de Frutos; Rubén Rodríguez; Fernando Celorrio

Addresses: Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre, University of Granada, Granada, Spain ' Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre, University of Granada, Granada, Spain ' CRIDA A.I.E ATM R&D + Innovation Reference Centre, Parque Empresarial Las Mercedes, C. de Campezo, 1, Edificio 7, Planta 4, 28022 Madrid, Spain ' CRIDA A.I.E ATM R&D + Innovation Reference Centre, Parque Empresarial Las Mercedes, C. de Campezo, 1, Edificio 7, Planta 4, 28022 Madrid, Spain ' CRIDA A.I.E ATM R&D + Innovation Reference Centre, Parque Empresarial Las Mercedes, C. de Campezo, 1, Edificio 7, Planta 4, 28022 Madrid, Spain

Abstract: Any air traffic management (ATM) safety management system needs to provide measures to prevent controller's fatigue. In order to do this, it is necessary that reliable and valid procedures are in place to assess the fatigue endured by a controller in real-time. For this reason, intensive research is being carried out to develop procedures to assess controller's fatigue. The procedures that are offering the most promising results are those based on the recording of psychophysiological parameters. However, most of these procedures require expensive recording equipment and they might interfere with the control task. For this reason, it is necessary to find a procedure that has not those limitations. In this paper, a procedure based on the analysis of the fundamental frequency of the controller's voice from real operational recordings of controller-pilot radiofrequency communications is presented.

Keywords: component; mental fatigue; air traffic controller; ATC; voice fundamental frequency.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2022.127439

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2022 Vol.9 No.4, pp.311 - 327

Received: 04 Feb 2022
Accepted: 22 Jun 2022

Published online: 05 Dec 2022 *

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