Effects of a combined 3-D auditory/visual cueing system and non-distributed flight reference on visual target detection using a helmet-mounted display

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.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Pinedo, Carlos

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Laurence R. Young.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34683

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34683