“Chris has been drilling down to see if these products are at the level of maturity where they can be used in industry,” says Professor Bob Stone. For example, Chris might monitor eye movements, pupil size, physical gestures and physiological responses such as cortisone levels to understand and assess the mental workload of users.
Dr Rachel Geatches, technology manager at BAE Systems added “Chris’ research makes up a portfolio of work sponsored by BAE Systems, and the company aims to increase the number of researchers in collaboration in the coming years.”
The Birmingham team is also investigating the most effective way to train military field medics in evacuating injured crew in an emergency: should medics be trained with a real or a virtual mannequin, for instance, and could they use haptic gloves, which give the impression of sensations but operate in a virtual environment?