Feeling blue that with November here, winter is not far behind? Grounded pilots have a good excuse to spend their time playing video games when they can’t get a real flight fix. A study of cadets in the Israeli Air Force flight school showed that a game-playing group performed better in real-life flying tests than non-gaming cadets. Standard commercial combat-game software was used. The study found the games required skills in tracking, monitoring, situation assessment and memory, and honed workload-coping and attention-management skills. The video training was subsequently incorporated into the flight-school curriculum. Now, 10 years after that study, the same researchers are developing software targeted at improving the scores of basketball players. Aimed at college and professional teams, the “IntelliGym” products claim to give a competitive edge — exercise for the brain. Can games for pilots be far behind?
Video Games Help Fighter Pilots
Key Takeaways:
- A study of Israeli Air Force cadets found that a group playing commercial combat video games performed better in real-life flying tests, attributing improvements to honed tracking, situation assessment, memory, and attention management skills.
- Based on these findings, video training was subsequently incorporated into the Israeli Air Force flight-school curriculum.
- The same researchers are now developing "IntelliGym" software for college and professional basketball teams, applying similar brain-training concepts, and the article speculates about future game-based training for pilots.
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