US aerospace agency NASA has announced that it is developing a brain-monitoring hat for airline pilots to wear. The idea is that the bonce-clocking headset will know when pilots become "mentally overloaded" and help them to "realise" this.

The brain-titfers are being developed at NASA's Glenn Research Center using "functional near infrared spectroscopy" (fNIRS, apparently) and "other imaging technology". The spectroscope hats work by measuring blood flow in the cortex and the concentration of oxygen in the blood. NASA describes them as "non-invasive, safe, portable and inexpensive". The kit is being tried out on guinea-pig pilots in simulators at Glenn.

"What we hope to achieve by this study is a way to sensitively - and, ultimately, unobtrusively - determine when pilots become mentally overloaded ... Flying an aircraft involves multitasking that potentially can push the limits of human performance," she adds.

There's no word on just how the mindprobe hats would actually help a maxed-out pilot to cope. Presumably triggering flashing lights and a loud recorded voice repeatedly shouting "YOU ARE MENTALLY OVERLOADED! CALM DOWN!" wouldn't actually be of much assistance.

Perhaps some kind of mechanical arm able to slap a panicking flyboy round the chops or throw water in his face might be in order. NASA are obviously still working on this bit.

There's more from NASA on the Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck project - which oversees the brain-hat tech - here.®

Related stories

• Brainscan boffins build blunder-warning hat (24 March 2009)
• Canadian boffins develop mindreader headband (10 February 2009)
• UK scientists hit by lack of brains (6 January 2009)
• IEDM Chip boffins hone silicon-brain interface (16 December 2008)
• Budget airlines break new rules on opt-in website pricing (3 December 2008)
• ISS drinks dispenser now taking the p*ss (26 November 2008)
• ISS urinal/drinks-machine combo still buggy (24 November 2008)
• NASA celebrates return of the Zeppelin (21 November 2008)
• NASA space tests 'interplanetary internet' protocol (19 November 2008)
• Mars lander has probably carked it, says NASA (11 November 2008)
• TSA vows relaxation of carry-on liquid limits (28 October 2008)
• US sky marshals submit to Heart of Gold randomware (2 October 2008)
• Ryanair cancels aggregator-booked tickets in escalating scraping war (13 August 2008)
• Swiss birdman in Alpine backpack-jetplane stunt flight (15 May 2008)