Last month, at an MIT Northern California occasion, we mentioned what particular purposes may take computer-based mind coaching to a brand new stage, and highlighted the potential to check and enhance Driving Skills.
Assessing and enhancing driving expertise could be a high candidate, given each the well-defined nature of the necessity and the looks of applications with rising proof (each scientific and real-world) behind.
Along these strains, the New York Times simply revealed an article, titled "Are You a Good Driver? Here's How to Find Out". A couple of quotes:
- "COULD a video game make you a better driver? More important, could computer software prevent teenagers from making fatal mistakes or even weed out older drivers whose debilities make them crash-prone?"
- "There are already programs like AAA's Roadwise Review (about $15), which is intended to help older people evaluate their driving."
- "There are other programs that will test mental agility and then use subsequent computer training sessions to improve a driver's skills. One such program is an online application called DriveFit ($89), which was developed by CogniFit, an Israeli company specializing in cognitive training software. DriveFit uses visual and memory tests to measure 12 driving-related cognitive abilities."
A query we frequently get when speaking with insurance coverage corporations, "So, can we really train drivers to act smarter behind the wheel"? Well, it relies upon of what "smarter" means (we're not conscious of mind coaching applications to make drivers keep away from alcohol, or sleep-inducing medicaments, earlier than driving), however there's rising proof that particular cognitive expertise which might be vital for driving can, certainly, be skilled, leading to higher driving outcomes.
A key analysis reference: the revealed research by Dr. Karlene Ball and Dr. Jerri Edwards. We had the fortune to interview Dr. Edwards not too long ago, and that is what she needed to say after I requested her to clarify the outcomes of their 2003 Human Factors paper (Roenker, D., Cissell, G., Ball, Okay., Wadley, V., & Edwards, J. (2003). Speed of processing and driving simulator coaching lead to improved driving efficiency. Human Factors, 45: 218-233):
- "Our goal was to train what is called the "helpful subject of view." The useful field of view is a measure of processing speed and visual attention that is critical for driving performance, and one of the areas that declines with age. It has previously been shown that this skill can be improved with training, so we wanted to see what effect it would have on the driving performance of older adults, and whether the training would be more or less effective than a traditional driving simulation course.
- For the study, we divided forty-eight adults over fifty-five years old into two intervention groups of twenty-four people each. Each group received twenty hours of training. One group was exposed to a traditional driving simulator, where they learned specific driving behaviours. The other one went through the cognitive training program.
- Both groups' driving performance improved right after their respective programs, but most benefits of the driving simulator disappeared by month eighteen.
- The speed-of-processing intervention helped participants not only improve "helpful subject of view," the skill that was directly trained, but it also transferred into real-life driving, and the results were sustained after 18 months. And, by the way, the evaluation was as real as one can imagine: a 14-mile open road evaluation.
- Faster speed-of-processing seemed to enable adults to react better to unexpected events that require a fast response and to reduce by 40% the number of dangerous manoeuvres on real roads (defined as those that required the training instructor to intervene during the evaluation)."
Note: this system utilized in that examine, referred to as Visual Awareness, was not too long ago acquired by Posit Science Corporation.
In quick, extra possible than not, I'd reply YES to the query used to open the New York Times article. A well-designed online game CAN make one a greater driver.
Of course, that is an rising subject, and way more analysis must be carried out earlier than purposes turn into mainstream, however the subject definitely deserves extra consideration, analysis {dollars}, and engagement by insurance coverage corporations to design and conduct real-world trials.
Allstate: what about spending only a fraction of your scary advert marketing campaign advert marketing campaign finances in exploring extra potential options?
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