There are many brain-activity-related engineering challenges in aviation. For example, is it possible to ensure that the mental fatigue level of pilots scheduled for long-haul flights does not exceed the safe limit? How can fighter pilots be prevented from experiencing blackout or disorientation during rapid climb or intensive aerial manoeuvres?

An innovative human brain-activity monitoring system is being developed in the NUS Department of Mechanical Engineering. It aims to identify pilots that are suffering from mental fatigue as well as to detect gravity-induced blackout or disorientation during flights. The system is based on the knowledge that neuronal groups in the brain communicate with each other through electrical impulses, producing different electric fields which can be detected. The fields detected are then associated with particular mental activities of the brain.

The mental fatigue identification system developed to screen pilots before flight duties can also be used to monitor the performance level of ground controllers to ensure that they maintain a maximum level of alertness. There is still much scope for progress in this very exciting field; this includes innovative functional materials and sensors, wireless transmission and integrated circuits for neural signal conditioning, embedded systems for digital signal processing, signal processing methods for signal-noise decomposition, artifact auto-removal and brain activity signature identification. Specially-selected undergraduates and graduate students have the opportunity of undertaking some of these highly-engaging projects.

A proposal entitled "Development of a Human Brain Activity Signature Acquisition System" submitted by a team led by Associate Professor XP Li from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected for funding by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This project will see Prof Li working closely with counterparts in the US Air Force. Prof Li recently paid a visit to the Human Effectiveness Department at a US Air Force base. He met with Dr Glenn Wilson, Chief of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Dr Grant McMillan, Chief of Collaborative Interfaces Branch, and a number of engineers involved in this project to discuss technical issues.