Evaluation of Perspective and Coplanar Cockpit Displays of Traffic Information to Support Hazard Awareness in Free Flight

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of display dimensionality on the ability of pilots to detect and avoid air traffic conflict in a part-task flight simulation paradigm. Thirty certified flight instructors from the Institute of Aviation at the University of Illinois flew a series of trials using one of three cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) formats. A coplanar (two-panel) format displayed two orthogonal views of the airspace, a conventional top-down view, and a view looking forward from behind the pilot's aircraft which provided a spatial-analog representation of altitude. Two perspective projection formats (one using a 30$\sp\circ$ viewing vector elevation angle, the other using a 60$\sp\circ$ viewing angle) provided integrated exocentric views of the airspace from above and behind the pilot's aircraft. The pilots were instructed to fly to a navigational waypoint displayed on the traffic display, and to deviate from their flight path as necessary to maintain safe separation from conflicting traffic. Traffic approached from a variety of trajectories which were designed to either conflict with, or miss the pilot's aircraft. Results indicated that the coplanar format generally supported better conflict detection and avoidance performance than did the perspective displays. Additionally, the approach trajectory of the traffic interacted with display format to affect the types of maneuvering strategies used by the pilots, as well as their success in avoiding conflicts. The results reported here are contrasted with the findings of previous research which has shown comparative advantages for perspective displays over planar formats which have used alphanumeric and symbolic codes to represent altitude.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Merwin, David Holt

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wickens, Christopher D.

• Psychology, Industrial

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9717311

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82208