Modern aviation systems are becoming increasingly complex, with higher levels of automation and tighter human-machine cooperation introducing new cognitive demands on pilots. In safety-critical environments, understanding the operator’s cognitive state is essential for sustaining performance, maintaining situational awareness, and ensuring overall system reliability. Recent advances in neuroergonomics and wearable sensing enable robust, objective, real-time assessment of human state through integrated physiological and behavioral measurements. Artificial intelligence supports the modeling and prediction of these responses in dynamic operational contexts.
This seminar presents a multimodal approach to pilot stress and mental workload estimation, built on foundational research that integrates physiological and behavioral sensing with AI-based predictive modeling. It then focuses on aerospace applications, with particular emphasis on rotorcraft operations. Experimental studies conducted in high-fidelity helicopter VR simulations of precision hovering in degraded visual environments show that multimodal sensory augmentation, especially full-body haptic cueing, can reduce operator workload and improve situational awareness. Together, these findings support the development of adaptive, human-aware flight systems for next-generation aircraft and rotorcraft.
Speaker:
Dr. Gabriele Luzzani is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Maryland Robotics Center, University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on human–machine interaction, pilot cognitive workload and stress monitoring, physiological sensing, and AI-driven aerospace systems and immersive flight simulation. He previously held positions as a Graduate Research Assistant at Politecnico di Torino and Visiting Scholar at the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center at the University of Maryland, and has additional research and industry experience with Leonardo Labs, Pipein s.r.l., and aerospace training and simulation development.
Dr. Luzzani earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (Human Factors) from Politecnico di Torino, where he studied pilot stress and mental workload using physiological signals. He holds dual M.Sc. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and Space Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, and a B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino. His honors include the Maryland Robotics Center Postdoctoral Fellowship, the EASA European Academia Conference Award, and selection to the Alta Scuola Politecnica Excellence Program.
Free admission, open to all members of the university community and the public, subject to availability.
11.03.2026