Electrophysiology (REDS)

SUSOPS experiments require subjects to perform tasks under harsh conditions, such as sleep-deprivation. To allow experimenters to monitor the physiology of subjects as they play the war game, NTT Systems developed REDS (Real-time Electrophysiological Data Analysis for SUSOPS).

Electrodes attached to the subjects provided real-time monitoring of electrophysiological data (EEG and ECG). The SUSOPS cognitive tasks were presented on Amiga computers (running VT100 terminal emulators). Data collected on the subjects' Amigas was stored on a VAX, and processed by another Amiga, where the data is displayed in real-time to the experimenter. The programming was done in C.

The incoming data can be viewed either in raw format, or after analysis (a sliding waterfall display of the data's Fourier transform). Monitoring electrophysiology in real time allows the experimenter to continually assess psychophysiological processes and also provides immediate verification of signal integrity. Should a subject fall asleep, an alarm informs the experimenter immediately, since this is particularly crucial information.

REDS has been designed to be expandable. Extra display Amigas can be added for more computing power and display space. Other analysis routines can also be added, in addition to the existing Fourier transform.

Below are examples of the raw data display and the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) display.