GEOGRAPHIC ORIENTATION IN HUMANS,
Abstract
The problem of specifying the characteristics of the Earth reference component of the Horizontal Situation Display is considered. The approach taken was to consider the basic processes by which men orient themselves to a geographic field. A brief description is given of past research approaches to this problem and an assessment is made of the status of present knowledge of geographic orientation in humans. A number of problems requiring research are also outlined. The following conclusions were reached: At the present time virtually nothing is known about the variables that influence the geographic orientation performance of men. It is known that travelers on land, sea, and air do become disoriented as to their geographic position and direction of movement even when modern navigation aids and displays are avail able, and that such disorientation is one cause of mission failure. However, there is presently no experimental data that disclose the cause of disorientation, nor is there any known of quickly re-orienting a profoundly disoriented person. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0418426
Entities
People
- James J. Mcgrath
Organizations
- Douglas