Overcoming Cognitive Distraction and Measurement Noise: Strategies for Humans and Engineering Systems

Cognitive distraction and measurement noise are two distinct factors that significantly impact the performance of humans and engineering systems. Cognitive distraction occurs when an individual's attention is diverted from a task, while measurement noise refers to the random variation that can occur in system measurements. Although humans and engineering systems employ different methods to overcome these obstacles, the ultimate goal is to achieve optimal performance. An intriguing question arises: what are the similarities and differences between using the term "noise" in engineering and cognitive psychology? Additionally, it is worthwhile to explore whether the human brain and engineering control systems use similar or different approaches to attenuate noise. While this article does not provide a definitive answer, it emphasizes the importance of addressing this question and encourages further investigation. Furthermore, assistive cyber-physical devices such as wearable sensory-substitution navigation aids are highlighted as quintessential human-in-the-loop systems where engineering noise attenuation and human cognitive distraction mitigation must converge.