IT WAS GOOD to find New Scientist swinging the spotlight onto
fatigue in airline pilots and air traffic controllers
(2 December 2000, p 21).
This area is largely ignored, despite the very real need to observe levels of
tiredness in pilots and controllers so they can rest periodically while their
deputies take over the controls.
The article described a system devised by the Electronic Navigation Research
Institute near Tokyo to analyse voice patterns for signs of fatigue. I was
impressed that it could detect tiredness in test subjects between 10 and 20
minutes before they noticed it themselves. I…
