Participate in the CANFLY Study! See below for two ways to participate.
The Advanced Cognitive Engineering (ACE) Lab at Carleton University specializes in research regarding aviation safety. The ACE Lab uses online, virtual reality, and full-scale flight simulation to investigate foundational principles of cognition and human-machine integration. The ACE Lab is seeking licensed/permitted pilots to participate in an upcoming study that will be of interest to the aviation community. There are now two ways to participate!
Option 1: In-Person
Those who live within driving distance to Carleton University have the option to attend in person at the ACE Lab and participate in the laboratory virtual reality flight simulation experiment and complete the online CANFLY assessment at the ACE Lab
Option 2: Remote
Those who cannot attend in person have the opportunity to complete just the online CANFLY portion of the study from the comfort of their home or office.
To Find Out More:
Interested pilots should contact the ACE Lab at acelabresearch@gmail.com
Below you will find information that you can share or post on your website or in an e-newsletter if you have flight school/club permission.
CANFLY: Validation of a Short Version of a Cognitive Screening Tool for General Aviation
Study Purpose & Benefits: This study represents the next phase of our validation of a shortened version of the CANFLY, a cognitive health screening tool for pilots. The CANFLY was developed at the Advanced Cognitive Engineering (ACE) Lab at Carleton University. The goal of this study is to examine whether cognitive factors, such as situation awareness, collected in virtual flight environments are predictive of critical incidents.
Who Can Participate: Licensed/Permitted pilots may participate. Participants should have normal (or corrected to normal) vision and hearing.
Study Activities: For those who can attend in person: You are invited to participate in a virtual reality (VR) flight simulation study (~1 hour at the ACE Lab) AND an the CANFLY online cognitive health assessment for pilots (~45 minutes).
For those who are not able to attend in-person (as you are not in the Ottawa area): You are invited to complete just the CANFLY online cognitive health assessment for pilots from the comfort of your own home/office (~45 minutes).
Study Risks: For those participating in-person at the ACE Lab, Carleton University, there is a minor risk of simulator sickness, and if you have a history of simulator sickness or motion sickness you should not participate. Should the rare event of simulator sickness occur this is quickly remediated by stopping the simulation, briefly closing your eyes, and drinking some water.
Compensation: Your time will not be compensated, however you will be provided with free parking and refreshments should you attend the in-person session at Carleton University.
Location: The flight simulation study will take place at Carleton University at the Advanced Cognitive Engineering- Virtual Reality Laboratory, which is on the first floor of the Human Computer Interaction Building (parking in Lot #1 behind HCI and accessed from Library Road). For those who are not local to Carleton University, the CANFLY online cognitive health assessment for pilots will be completed from the comfort of your own home/office via a link provided to you.
How to Sign Up: For those who could attend in person at Carleton University in Ottawa, please email us at acelabresearch@gmail.com to book a time with one of our researchers. For those who can complete the online portion only (not local to Ottawa) please email us at acelabresearch@gmail.com to receive the link to the latest version of the CANFLY online screening tool.
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Study Approval: The ethics protocol for this project was reviewed by the Carleton University Research Ethics Board, which provided clearance to carry out the research. (Clearance # 119725)
Lead Researcher: Dr. Kathleen Van Benthem, Institute of Cognitive Science, Carleton University
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Chris Herdman, Department of Psychology, Carleton University
This study is self-funded and has no affiliation with any aviation regulatory body.