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HUMAN PERFORMANCE RESEARCH
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“Human performance” entails the capacity of an individual or group of people to live healthy lives and accomplish tasks or to be productive.  In commerce, there is a perpetual drive to increase productivity, both by increasing worker’s capacity through training and by increasing the capacity of the worker’s tools.  Similarly, the military requires its personnel to perform more work in less time and more smartly in order to maintain competitive advantage over adversaries.

Worldwide, there are numerous institutions that are developing techniques to preserve and increase human abilities.  In the Mid-Atlantic Area, considerable Federal research focuses on improving the condition and capabilities of humans. 
 

Agency/Lab

Focus of Human Performance Research

ARL

Soldier peak performance in extreme conditions; extension of sensory capabilities

DARPA

Enhanced and extended soldier performance; training and education

DOEd

Training and education

DOT

Matching man-machine interface to optimize system performance and survivability

FDA

Safety of food and drugs

NASA

Peak performance in extreme environments

NIH

Prevention, cure of diseases and injuries

OSHA

Improvement of workplace safety

USDA

Nutrition for optimal performance


Some of the Mid-Atlantic Federal organizations involved in human performance R&D include:
 

 

Army Center for Environmental Health Research Ft Detrick

Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defenses Aberdeen

Army Medical Research & Development Command Ft Detrick

Army Research Institute for Behavioral & Social Sciences

Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases Ft Detrick

ARL Human Research & Engineering Directorate

ARS Human Nutrition Research Center Beltsville

CDC NIOSH Pittsburgh

Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Dept HHS Washington

Human Research & Engineering Directorate Aberdeen

Naval Safety Center Norfolk

Naval Medical Research Center Silver Spring

NIH

            National Cancer Institute

            National Eye Institute

            National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

            National Human Genome Research Institute

            National Institute on Aging

            National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

            National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

            National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin diseases

            National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

            National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

            National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

            National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

            National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

            National Institute on Drug Abuse

            National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

            National Institute of General Medical Sciences

            National Institute of Mental Health

            National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

            National Institute of Nursing Research

            National Library of Medicine

            Center for Information Technology

            Center for Scientific Review

            John E. Fogarty International Center

            National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

            National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities

            National Center for Research Resources

            Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
 
Uniformed Services University

VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Service

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research


 Typical Ways to Improve Personal Performance Capabilities

  • Healthy living

  • Preventative and restorative medicine

  • Develop and use advanced training techniques (ex: interval training)

  • Develop and use advanced training tools (ex: simulation equipment)

  • Stay alert (ex: via trucker’s pills)

  • Regenerate strength (ex: by improving the quality of sleep)

  • Practice, practice, practice repetitively

  • Consume physiologically beneficial nutrients and supplements

  • Augment the senses (ex: glasses, hearing aids)

  • Improve strength and speed (ex: by scientific weight training)

  • Supplement human capability with machines and optimized interface with machines
    Bionics  -  Ergonomics  -  Smart clothing  -  Smart peripherals  -  Implanted sensors


Human Research and Engineering Directorate

The formation of the Human Research and Engineering Directorate (HRED) from the former Human Engineering Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Institute combines the Army's human factors and Manpower and Personnel Integration (MANPRINT) resources at APG, MD. HRED research directly impacts the soldier by developing technologies that improve how humans interact with Army systems while mitigating adverse effects from threat systems. This valuable research is used to enhance the operational characteristics of Army systems.

HRED executes a broad-based program of basic research and technology development with the objective of optimizing soldier performance and soldier/machine interfaces for maximum effectiveness. Extensive research in human perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor performance builds the framework for human factors and MANPRINT advances, which help improve the effectiveness of fielded and developmental systems.

Areas of expertise:

  • Human performance measurement

  • Intelligent decision aids

  • Human control of automated systems

  • Control/display/workstation design

  • Simulation and human modeling

  • MANPRINT design and integration

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