The Naval Aerospace Medical Institute is expanding its approach to pilot candidate evaluation with ASANA, a virtual reality system that tracks cognitive and physiological performance during immersive tasks. Developed by a small team of Aerospace Experimental Psychologists and civilian researchers at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the platform is designed to complement traditional testing methods by capturing subtle indicators of focus, adaptability and spatial awareness. ASANA grew out of the Navy’s long-standing effort to refine the Aviation Selection Test Battery, a process that helps determine who will move forward in flight training for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
The system places users inside a virtual reality simulated cockpit where eye movement, head rotation and heart-rate changes are monitored while participants navigate shifting mission demands. According to researchers, the layered data could help link performance in virtual settings to real-world cognitive abilities.
“We’re collecting high-resolution evidence of how people navigate, think and adapt,” said program contributor Allison Bayro…