ABSTRACT
Pilots in todays aircraft are supported by sophisticated levels of cockpit automation and standardized procedures. In spite of this, safety may still decrease considerably in moments when workload becomes excessive or when situational awareness is degraded. In two flight simulation experiments, the potential benefits of duro-dimensional (3D) visual (perspective) and auditory radar displays for situational awareness support were investigated. A target localization task was employed in which subjects, flying a fighter aircraft, were required to locate a target that suddenly appeared. Then, a target intercept manoeuvre had to be performed as quickly as possible. Pilot task performance was determined in terms of target acquisition time and mental workload. Results show that 3D visual information considerably unproved task performance, whereas task performance with 3D auditory displays was comparable with a 2D visual display. However, simultaneous presentation of auditory and visual display information clearly improved performance with a 2D visual display, little improvement was found widi die 3D visual displays. Implications of 3D visual and auditory displays for pilot support are discussed.
