The effects of the command and Control Vehicle (C2V) operational environment on soldier health and performance

Abstract

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. AbstractThe command and control vehicle (C2V) was developed to support U.S. Army tactical operation centers in heavy forces. The requirements for the C2V stipulate that it must support mobile operations and that it must support command and control (C2) from within the confines of the vehicle. However, in early testing, some human operators exhibited motion sickness during moving operations. As a result, the Human Research and Engineering Directorate of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Life Sciences Division, was directed to perform a study to quantify the incidence and severity of motion sickness and any associated performance decrement. The study would discriminate between motion effects in the C2V in parked, moving, and short halt in each seat in three seat configurations.Twenty-four soldiers were exposed to each of 12 seats (four seats in three vehicle configurations) for a 4-hour "cell." During a cell, subjects completed a motion sickness and mood scale and the Delta cognitive battery. Half the subjects were also instrumented to record physiological correlates of motion sickness. Each cell included an initial (parked) administration of the test batteries followed by two test batteries while moving and three test batteries during short halts.Fifty-five percent of the subjects reported an average motion sickness score, indicating moderate to severe symptoms. Symptoms were not mitigated by short halts. One subject was withdrawn from the study because of severe and persistent symptoms.Performance was significantly worse during moving operations than in parked, with a partial recovery during short halts. Performance degradation was comparable to blood alcohol equivalencies at or above 0.08% in 35% of the soldiers during movement and 22% during short halts.There was no significant difference between seat or vehicles in any of the measurements. CONTENTS

Measurement of Noise and Vibration in Canadian Forces Armoured Vehicles

“…Motion sickness in a command and control vehicle (C2V) has been investigated by Cowings et al 9) , who found that while incidences of emesis were rare, many of the subjects reported drowsiness and mild nausea. Performance on cognitive tasks in a C2V has also been studied [10][11][12] , but the results have been ambiguous. In these studies, the details of the vibration spectra were not reported.…”

Self-driving carsickness

“…Indeed, previous research has already shown that the use of in-vehicle entertainment systems can increase the incidence and severity of carsickness. Cowings et al (1999), for example, reported a negative impact on crew performance and health when subjects attended to displays while the vehicle was moving. More recently, in a study by Kato and Kitazaki (2008), participants were driven around whilst sitting in the backseat either watching the road ahead, or a rear-seat display showing written text.…”

A Comparison of Intranasal and Oral Scopolamine for Motion Sickness Prevention in Military Personnel

“…Seasickness has been positively correlated with motion sickness caused by other modes of transportation; however, the motion stimulus involved with seasickness often elicits more severe symptoms than stimuli from airplanes, trains, and cars (Pethybridge, 1982). Finally, in recent studies examining military land maneuvers in amphibious assault vehicles, 74% of Marines reported moderate to severe symptoms, such as headache, nausea, malaise, anorexia, and emesis, while working at computer workstations (Cowings, Toscano, & DeRoshia, 1998;Cowings, Toscano, DeRoshia & Tauson, 1999;Rickert, 2000). Rickert (2000) and Schipani, Bruno, Lattin, King and Patton (1998) demonstrated that military personnel conducting mission operations in this provocative motion environment exhibited significant performance decrements on cognitive tasks requiring time sharing, selective attention, inductive reasoning, memorization and spatial orientation.…”