Detecting Targets From a Moving Vehicle With a Head-Mounted Display and Sound Localization

摘要

The effect of indirect vision systems on target detection and recognition is of interest to designers of future combat vehicles. In a field study, eight participants detected and identified pop-up' targets on an outdoor experimental facility from a stationary and a moving vehicle while using a head- mounted display (HMD) and direct viewing as a control, with and without sound localization. A head-slaved camera mounted on top of the vehicle provided the image to the HMD. With sound localization provided by localized auditory cueing, the computer-controlled audio tones (intermittent at a 0.5-second interval) appeared to originate from the location of the target. The results are that more targets were detected with direct viewing than with the HMD and from the stationary position than the moving vehicle. Although more targets were detected with direct viewing from the stationary vehicle without cueing, sound localization improved target detection in all other treatments. Similar comments apply to identification from the stationary position; however, fewer targets were identified from the moving vehicle with sound localization than without. The advantages of auditory cueing for target detection may have been limited by the choice of an intermittent tone for sound localization and the restricted search sector used in the experiment. Ratings of task attention loading show that increased attention was needed for the detection task with sound localization, especially with the HMD. This is also true for the identification task. Workload test battery ratings show a significant increase in perceived workload with the HMD as compared to the direct vision. A test of situational awareness shows significant effects with decreasing trends in perceived stability and familiarity and an increased need to concentrate when one is using the HMD in the moving vehicle.