Detection enhancement using colour for sonar displays

摘要

This paper describes an investigation of the effect of the inclusion of colour coded signal information in frequency-time-intensity (lofargram) sonar displays on the detection threshold of human observers. An average measured 'colour gain' for human observers gave a systemic improvement in performance which partially negated typical human factors losses associated with making detection decisions from sonar displays. The effect of good and poor contrast between colour hues was also studied for its effect on signal detectability and the quality of bearing information on the display. It was found that the relative brightness of the display cells was the dominating factor in signal detection on lofargrams, rather than the specific choice of colour hues, and that each display must have its choice of colour hues individually tuned for maximum benefit.