'E-Tattoo' Could Track Mental Workload For People In High-Stake Jobs, Study Says 61
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Whether it is doing sums or working out what to text your new date, some tasks produce a furrowed brow. Now scientists say they have come up with a device to monitor such effort: an electronic tattoo, stuck to the forehead. The researchers say the device could prove valuable among pilots, healthcare workers and other professions where managing mental workload is crucial to preventing catastrophes. "For this kind of high-demand and high-stake scenario, eventually we hope to have this real-time mental workload decoder that can give people some warning and alert so that they can self-adjust, or they can ask AI or a co-worker to offload some of their work," said Dr Nanshu Lu, an author of the research from the University of Texas at Austin, adding the device may not only help workers avoid serious mistakes but also protect their health.
Writing in the journal Device, Lu and colleagues describe how using questionnaires to investigate mental workload is problematic, not least as people are poor at objectively judging cognitive effort and they are usually conducted after a task. Meanwhile, existing electroencephalography (EEG) and electrooculography (EOG) devices, that can be used to assess mental workload by measuring brain waves and eye movements respectively, are wired, bulky and prone to erroneous measurements arising from movements. By contrast, the "e-tattoo" is a lightweight, flexible, wireless device.
The black, wiggly path of the e-tattoo is composed of a graphite-based conductive material, and is attached to the forehead using conductive adhesive film. Four square EEG electrodes, positioned on the forehead, each detect a different region of brain activity -- with a reference electrode behind the ear -- while rectangular EOG electrodes, placed vertically and horizontally around the eyes, provide data about eye movements. Each of the stretchable electrodes is coated in an additional conductive material. The e-tattoo, which is bespoke and disposable, is connected to a reusable flexible printed circuit using conductive tape, while a lightweight battery can be clipped to the device. The device is expected to cost less than $200 and be accompanied with an app to alert the user if their mental workload is too high.
Writing in the journal Device, Lu and colleagues describe how using questionnaires to investigate mental workload is problematic, not least as people are poor at objectively judging cognitive effort and they are usually conducted after a task. Meanwhile, existing electroencephalography (EEG) and electrooculography (EOG) devices, that can be used to assess mental workload by measuring brain waves and eye movements respectively, are wired, bulky and prone to erroneous measurements arising from movements. By contrast, the "e-tattoo" is a lightweight, flexible, wireless device.
The black, wiggly path of the e-tattoo is composed of a graphite-based conductive material, and is attached to the forehead using conductive adhesive film. Four square EEG electrodes, positioned on the forehead, each detect a different region of brain activity -- with a reference electrode behind the ear -- while rectangular EOG electrodes, placed vertically and horizontally around the eyes, provide data about eye movements. Each of the stretchable electrodes is coated in an additional conductive material. The e-tattoo, which is bespoke and disposable, is connected to a reusable flexible printed circuit using conductive tape, while a lightweight battery can be clipped to the device. The device is expected to cost less than $200 and be accompanied with an app to alert the user if their mental workload is too high.
Okay, now wait (Score:4, Insightful)
We thought that Google Glass was obnoxious and stupid. Now someone wants us to put an EEG on your forehead in the form of a tattoo? Nothing says credibility when your doctor, nurse, or pilot walks in looking like a Jaffa.
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Apply DIRECTLY to the forehead!
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You really need to get a life. You spend more time thinking about his asshole than he does. So sad.
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Re:Okay, now wait (Score:5, Funny)
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Go figure it’ll sell like hotcakes as an “HR recognized” legal excuse for certain members of a protected class to ask everyone else to do their work for them the millisecond their e-sensitivity alarm goes “WAAAAH”.
Or the even nastier alternative: "You're not thinking hard enough, aren't stressed out enough, for someone of your low station. You're fired!"
Re:Okay, now wait (Score:5, Informative)
I've been doing a bit of revealing research and seemingly it also works if you put it on your right hand, the downside being that it's actually the mark of the beast.
Thought Police (Score:5, Interesting)
You are thinking too hard citizen
Care to explain yourself ?
The situation is simple, why are you so aggitated ?
We better go to the time out booth until I can review the surveilence cameras & GPS trackers
This will cost you 300 credits for the investigation
Re:Thought Police (Score:4, Informative)
We better go to the time out booth until I can review the surveillance cameras & GPS trackers
This will cost you 300 credits for the investigation
* two men enter *
* one man leaves *
”Boy, who needs e-tattoos when you can just beat the shit out of an auditor. I feel better already!”
Re:Thought Police (Score:5, Insightful)
The police already do this regularly. They describe a suspect as "agitated" or "aggressive" in order to abuse them.
That's why it is so important to film your encounters with the police, and ask them to turn on their body cameras. Make sure that if they try it the jury can see they are lying.
IT engineers dealing with managers (Score:2)
should get one for free!
Orwellness (Score:2)
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E-Tattoo Etiquette (Score:1)
Always remember: If you like someone's e-tattoo, tell the person you like it because they want to hear that. If you don't like their e-tattoo, don't tell them because they got the e-tattoo for themselves and not for anyone else, and don't care what anyone else thinks about it!
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I frown (Score:3, Insightful)
I frown when people come to my desk, not because I'm deep in thought (I am) but because I'm about to be interrupted with a problem I don't want to deal with.
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There is such a market for that.
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I frown when people come to my desk, not because I'm deep in thought (I am) but because I'm about to be interrupted with a problem I don't want to deal with.
This will likely be the next step in this wrongthink nightmare. "You react poorly to interactions with others. You will be set to retraining via HR drone."
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I worked at a place where everyone in a cubicle had a small paperboard box with "Busy" on one end and "Not Busy" on the other end. Policy was that if someone had the "Busy" end up, that they were not to be disturbed. This was a really good idea.
i don't want to dismiss this out of hand, but... (Score:5, Interesting)
The ethical and practical problems do seem quite challenging. Everything from "what gets measured, gets managed" to the observer effect to the risks of elbow-joggling at the worst moments. Above all, it enables a shift in responsibility from the institution ("ensure staffing levels are safe on our CCU") to the individual ("how are you going to manage your stress better?"). I'm sure they're clever people and will have anticipated and maybe resolved many issues, but really this seems fundamentally quite difficult to do right.
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This continues to be an issue in airplane cockpits, but has been slowly getting better over the years. They train pilots to be a bit more assertive if they see an issue, even if they are very junior to the other crew. When things do go wrong the pilots are required to keep a record of it e.g. by pulling the fuse on the voice recorder when they land, but also guaranteed not to be punished for doing so, to prevent there being any incentive to cover things up.
A lot of air accidents are due to the pilots becomi
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A lot of air accidents are due to the pilots becoming over-stressed or over-worked, so potentially this could help. In the moment it can be hard to recognize that it is happening to you, and obviously if the aircraft is in distress you are strongly motivated to do everything you can to save your own life, as well as everyone else's. But having a little nudge to say "take a deep breath, step back, and re-evaluate" might be useful.
Having "something" nudge you to tell you to take a breath sounds benign and maybe useful, but have you looked at what this "something" consists of??? You've gotta stickers all over your forehead and down both sides of the eyes and under an eye, and there's the circuit board and battery to deal with (I'm fine with assuming the board+battery will be moved, go away, or be significantly smaller at some point). The time to apply and remove that daily would easily be way more than I'd personally save by having it
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It's a prototype, I'm sure it can be improved.
What I meant was it is a reminder to stop for a moment and double check everything. One common feature of aviation accidents is pilots simply forgetting to check or do things, because of the stress. Often very basic things like putting the thrust levers in the right position, or considering that an instrument might not be working, or communicating vital information with their copilot.
It's just how the human brain works. When under stress it seeks way to reduce t
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"It looks like you're trying to land an airplane while the engine is on fire. Would you like help?"
[Dismiss]
10 seconds later...
"It looks like you're stressed. Would distracting you some more help?"
[Dismiss]
10 seconds later...
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Everything from "what gets measured, gets managed"
"Look, if you don't get less stressed, I'm going to put you on a PIP and fire you. The app is watching."
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Everything from "what gets measured, gets managed"
"Look, if you don't get less stressed, I'm going to put you on a PIP and fire you. The app is watching."
I wonder how they will deal with the fact that some people feel terribly stressed having to work at all, to others like myself, need a lot to become stressed.
It seems pretty idiotic to make one more metric, especially when dealing with the spectrum of stress, and how various people react while they might be performing perfectly well. It also brings non work stressors into the workplace.
As well - is a new metric to load people down with work until they stress, then back off just a tiny bit?
No thanks
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A lot of managers aren't satisfied unless their reports are feeling stressed. (Since they don't know how to actually measure productivity, they use stress as a proxy. Of course that doesn't work)
I had a manager like that once. I was not nice to him.
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Luckily perverse incentives do not exist! (Score:3)
Also, starting next pay period we're baselining compensation to full-load employees; with time below 100% paid at a correspondingly lower percentage. Any questions?
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Also, starting next pay period we're baselining compensation to full-load employees; with time below 100% paid at a correspondingly lower percentage. Any questions?
That's the salary version. For hourly employees, when high stress is detected, they will be alerted to wrap up what they're working on an to take an unpaid break; Said break will begin automatically when high stress is detected (automatically log you out of the timeclock). If you don't log back in within 15minutes, a demerit will be issued. Those struggling to calm down will be provided a 20% discount to betterhelp dot com, and the first week is free!
Opt out any time! Those opting out will simply need to co
Wrong consequence (Score:3)
People who are unconcerned will rise, whilst people who actually care will fall
Face Like a Bulldog (Score:3)
I've been writing code professionally for 40 years. If 'thinking hard' etches a frown into your face, then I would have a face like a bulldog! Oh, wait, never mind.
Mixed feelings (Score:2)
If it was indefinite it would be deleterious, but I thrive under intense situations. To the point that I seek them out for enjoyment. I love double black off piste skiing; sky diving; SCUBA; backpacking over mountains and through forests and deserts; route finding/orienteering in the wilderness and
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> The brain, like every other biological structure, needs to perform under stress to improve. In the long run, this is likely to create weaker willed individuals who are less able to cope with intense situations.
Yeah, that's complete bollocks. Stress is inherently destructive, which is why people who subject themselves to stress for extended periods of time burn out.
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Invisible Man did it! (Score:2)
The Sci-Fi Channel series Invisible Man (Vincent Ventresca) did something like that. The invisibility mechanism (gland) he had implanted let off a toxin of sorts when he used the invisibility. So it needed an enzyme shot to clear out when it built up in his blood too much. The tattoo would show the levels without them having to take blood samples. How cool.
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The Sci-Fi Channel series Invisible Man (Vincent Ventresca) did something like that.
While I loved this show - and still do, for its combination of characters and campiness - the tattoo seemed to be a mechanic used for tension and exposition, but then again, the counteragent paradigm was definitely used as a plot device they got LOTS of mileage out of. The tattoo was really just an extension of that.
But really, I never quite understood why they always showed the injection close-up...it was really obnoxious to folks like me who get skeeved out by it.
Aw hell no... (Score:2)
This will not be used for stress management. This will be used to gauge how much work they can heap on you. If you're not stressed, you're obviously not working hard enough.
Just ask a behaviorist (Score:2)
Religious Exemption (Score:2)
Most effective way to use Leviticus to 'nope' out of this.
Obviously... (Score:2)
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It will be configured as an "H", and called the "Rimmer device"
I always suspected that /. was full of smegheads. Now I know it!
The only mental state this will show (Score:2)
is embarrassment.
Did you look at the picture?
Backfiring (Score:2)
Any bets that finally dropping into flow state will look like mental stress?
Just what we need - a device to detect maximal productivity and interrupt it.
Lab experiment only! (Score:1)
And how will it be used? (Score:2)
Why, by management, who will have all of your faces scanned as you're working, and call you in for not working hard enough
You really want to tell me I'm wrong?
Distraction-free environment (Score:2)
Neurobullshit (Score:2)
Furrowed brows do not necessarily indicate anything about a person's mental state. They are just movements.
Unscannable (Score:2)