Suchergebnisse

Objective Evaluate and model the advantage of a situation awareness (SA) supported by an augmented reality (AR) display for the ground-based joint terminal attack Controller (JTAC), in judging and describing the spatial relations between objects in a hostile zone. Background The accurate world-referenced description of relative locations of surface objects, when viewed from an oblique slant angle (aircraft, observation post) is hindered by (1) the compression of the visual scene, amplified at a lower slang angle, (2) the need for mental rotation, when viewed from a non-northerly orientation. Approach Participants viewed a virtual reality (VR)-simulated four-object scene from either of two slant angles, at each of four compass orientations, either unaided, or aided by an AR head-mounted display (AR-HMD), depicting the scene from a top-down (avoiding compression) and north-up (avoiding mental rotation) perspective. They described the geographical layout of four objects within the display. Results Compared with the control condition, that condition supported by the north-up SA display shortened the description time, particularly on non-northerly orientations (9 s, 30% benefit), and improved the accuracy of description, particularly for the more compressed scene (lower slant angle), as fit by a simple computational model. Conclusion The SA display provides large, significant benefits to this critical phase of ground-air communications in managing an attack—as predicted by the task analysis of the JTAC. Application Results impact the design of the AR-HMD to support combat ground-air communications and illustrate the magnitude by which basic cognitive principles "scale up" to realistically simulated real-world tasks such as search and rescue.

Objective This experiment examined performance costs when processing two sources of information positioned at increasing distances using a flat panel display and an augmented reality head-mounted display (AR-HMD). Background The AR-HMD enables positioning virtual information at various distances in space. However, the proximity compatibility principle suggests that closer separation when two sources of information require mental integration assists performance, whereas increased separation between two sources hurts integration performance more than when a single source requires focused attention. Previous studies have provided inconsistent findings regarding costs associated with increased separation. Few of these experiments have examined separation for both focused and integration tasks, compared vertical and lateral separation, or measured head movements. Method Three experiments collectively examined these issues using a flat panel display and a virtual display presented with an HMD, where the separation of information varied laterally or vertically during a focused attention (digit reading) task and an information integration (mental subtraction) task. Results There was no performance cost for either display when information was increasingly separated. However, head movements mitigated performance costs by preserving accuracy at larger separations without increasing response time. Conclusion Head movements appear to mitigate performance costs associated with presenting information increasingly far apart on flat panel displays and HMDs. Both eye scanning and head movements appear to be less effortful than expected. Application These findings have important implications for design guidelines regarding the placement of information presented on flat panel displays and, more specifically, HMDs, which can present information 360° around the user.