Abstract:
An air-combat pilot must both control the aircraft and locate targets. The objective of this study was to determine combined effects of using the Non-Distributed Flight Reference and 3-D audio/visual cueing system for the purpose of easing pilot control and aiding target location. The Non-Distributed Flight Reference was compared against the Military Standard display, while three different target cues were presented for target acquisition: (1) 3-D Audio Only, a voiced signal = "Target-Target", (2) Visual Only, a line emanating from the aim-sight reticle (located in the center of the subject's field of view) pointing towards the target aircraft, and (3) a Combined Audio/Visual cue, providing both cues. The subjects were asked to fly a simulated aircraft at a commanded heading and altitude while targets appeared from 15 different locations (three elevations 0⁰, +40⁰, and five azimuths 0⁰, ±30⁰, ±60⁰). Subject deviations from heading and altitude were used to determine flight performance, and target cue effectiveness was determined by recording the time to target. The results of this experiment showed that there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) in flight performance between the Non-Distributed Flight Reference and the Military Standard displays. The combined Audio/Visual Cueing system resulted in the fastest search times.(cont.) These results are consistent with the findings from past research. The cleaner more integrated Non-Distributed Flight Reference allowed subjects to visually acquire targets quicker with no decrease in flight performance. Using the Non-Distributed Flight Reference display for attitude information combined with a 3-D Audio/Visual cueing system for target acquisition is a promising method of reducing search time during a visual search task.
Description:
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2006.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56).
