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Mental Workload Measurement in Helicopter Maintenance: Comparing Virtual Reality Simulation and Real‐World Conditions

Lorrys Berthon et al.

Human Factors and Ergonomics In Manufacturing2026https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.70041article
AJG 1
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Designing tomorrow's maintenance systems with a human‐centered approach is crucial to ensure optimal safety and performance. A key prerequisite for achieving this goal is to anticipate operators' cognitive behavior early in the design cycle. This study aims to determine whether the combination of mental workload measurement tools, including subjective, behavioral, and physiological measures, can detect comparable levels of cognitive effort during helicopter maintenance tasks in both real‐world and virtual reality conditions. We analyzed data from 10 participants who performed four maintenance tasks of varying complexity on a helicopter, including component removal and installation. These efforts were measured using subjective scales (NASA‐TLX), performance indicators (completion time), and cardiovascular data (heart rate, heart rate variability). Our observations revealed similar completion times and higher NASA‐TLX scores for complex tasks, regardless of the real and virtual environment. Regarding cardiovascular data, the time‐domain heart rate variability indicators showed consistent trends across both real and virtual environments. in both real and virtual settings. This research marks a significant step forward in the multidimensional, anticipatory measurement of mental workload in maintenance within a realistic industrial context.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.70041

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@article{lorrys2026,
  title        = {{Mental Workload Measurement in Helicopter Maintenance: Comparing Virtual Reality Simulation and Real‐World Conditions}},
  author       = {Lorrys Berthon et al.},
  journal      = {Human Factors and Ergonomics In Manufacturing},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.70041},
}

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Mental Workload Measurement in Helicopter Maintenance: Comparing Virtual Reality Simulation and Real‐World Conditions

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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