Effect of Three Levels of Laser Glare on the Speed and Accuracy of TargetLocation Performance When Viewing a Briefly Presented Visual Array

摘要

The effect of three levels of low-intensity laser glare on the visual searchperformance of student aviators was investigated. Subjects were exposed to laser glare while seated in a cockpit simulation trainer with attached F/15 windscreen assembly. The experimental task was designed to maximize visual attentional demands to a degree that might be expected in normal flight. Thus, speed and accuracy of performance were monitored while subjects located targets in a complex, briefly presented (about 1 s), visual array under simulated dusk conditions. Low-level argon laser-induced glare (a factor 3700 times below the ANSI maximum permissable exposure for a 902-ms laser presentation) caused significant decrements in visual search performance for briefly displayed visual information. Subjects identified significantly fewer targets when experiencing low-intensity laser glare relative to a no-glare control. In addition, the speed with which correctly identified targets were located was significantly reduced relative to a no-glare control. As incident laser glare increased, significant decrements in the speed and accuracy of target location responses were observed at target eccentricities up to 8.1 deg from the center of the beam path.