Eye-tracking technology shows gaps in situational awareness, decision making

Eye-tracking technology can be used to determine what an individual looked at, how long and how often. Understanding what information someone did or did not see can paint a picture of their situational awareness. Eye tracking has been used in other industries, including aviation, but has not been heavily utilized in the drilling industry. A multidisciplinary team consisting of experts in petroleum engineering, systems engineering and psychology from the University of Oklahoma (OU) performed an eye-tracking experiment using a virtual reality drilling simulator to assess the situational awareness of participants. In this video from the 2018 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, on 7 March, Raj Kiran, a PhD candidate in petroleum engineering at OU, discusses this experiment and what the team learned. He also explains what the drilling industry can learn about situational awareness and decision making on critical drilling equipment by using eye-tracking technology.