Investigating the Feasibility of Using Eye-Tracking Metrics as Indicators of Situation Awareness in Flight Training

Assessing pilot trainees’ Situation Awareness (SA) is critical for aviation safety and efficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of three distinct eye-tracking metrics, gaze-based metrics, gaze patterns, and gaze entropy, in measuring the SA levels of pilot trainees. A between-subject experiment compared two trainee groups: one received standard training, and the other received training enhanced with vibrotactile feedback. Participants’ eye movements were recorded using wearable eye-tracking glasses before and after training. The experimental group showed improved flight performance, advanced gaze-based metrics, more organized gaze patterns, and increased gaze entropy. These results demonstrate that eye-tracking metrics can effectively reflect SA changes, with gaze entropy significantly correlating with SA measurements and indicating higher SA levels. The study highlights the feasibility of using eye-tracking to evaluate SA in pilot training. Future research should explore varied task complexities and extended training durations to validate these findings and assess long-term impacts.