ADAPT: A predictive cognitive model of user visual attention and action planning

We present a computational cognitive model of novice and expert aviation pi lot action planning called ADAPT that models performance in a dynamically c hanging simulated flight environment. We perform rigorous tests of ADAPT's predictive validity by comparing the performance of individual human pilots to that of their respective models. Individual pilots were asked to execut e a series of flight maneuvers using a flight simulator, and their eye fixa tions and control movements were recorded in a time-synched database. Compu tational models of each of the 25 individual pilots were constructed, and t he individual models simulated execution of the same flight maneuvers perfo rmed by the human pilots. The time-synched eye fixations and control moveme nts of individual pilots and their respective models were compared, and rig orous tests of ADAPT's predictive validity were performed. The model explai ns and predicts a significant portion of pilot visual attention and control movements during flight as a function of piloting expertise. Implications for adaptive training systems are discussed.