ABSTRACT
Initial results of a laboratory study on potential performance benefits of using a non-collimated transparent holographic rear-projection screen (HRPS) in a complex visual search task are reported. Such a head-up display may, in the future, support low-visibility airport surface operation of tower controllers. Using 18 participants, four display settings were studied that varied the location of a partial set of the task stimuli: (1) Foreground display on the HRPS; 2) integrated in the background display; 3) foreground display on a head-down monitor placed in the same line of view towards the background; 4) foreground display on a head-down monitor placed sideways with an angle of 45° to the line of view towards the background. A significant benefit in target detection time was observed only in the first three against the fourth setting. However, no differences were found within the first three settings. This finding is discussed in terms of the proximity-compatibility principle of display design, from which some suggestions for a follow-up study are derived.
