Effect of Two Types of Scene Detail on Detection of Altitude Change in a Flight Simulator.

摘要

The effect of two types of simulator scene detail on detection of change in altitude was evaluated. The first type was the density of three dimensional objects in scenes, which ranged from 11 objects per square mile to 175 objects per square mile. The second was the detail/realism of three-dimensional objects, which ranged from simple, untextured tetrahedrons (i.e., three-sided pyramids) to a mix of highly detailed and realistic appearing oak trees, pine trees, and bushes. A group of pilots and a group of non-pilots viewed short segments of flight over simulated terrains and responded by pushing one of three buttons to indicate whether they were descending, remaining level at 150 ft above ground level or ascending. Results of Experiment 1 showed that accuracy and reaction times for both groups improved significantly with increases in object density. However, a significant effect of object type was obtained only for the non-pilot group with the accuracy dependent measures. Interestingly, the advantage favored tetrahedrons over realistic objects. In Experiment 2, these effects persisted even after four sessions of practice. These results suggest that available computer-image generator processing capacity may be used most effectively by maximizing object density rather than object realism.