EFFECTS OF DISPLAY POLARITY ON TARGET DETECTION WITH SIDE-LOOKING RADAR
Abstract
This study examines the effects of display polarity on the performance of subjects searching for specific targets on a side-looking radar (SLR) display. SLR imagery was displayed on a 14 by 14 inch display at a scale of 1: 176,000 and at 950 knots simulated aircraft speed. Nineteen SAC and TAC radar navigators were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was tested on a positive copy and the other on a negative copy of the same film. The average subject on the positive display detected significantly more targets (38.4%) than the average subject (32.1%) on the negative display. Target detection times on the positive display were significantly shorter. There was no significant difference between groups in number of responses to nontarget objects. For detections the distributions of confidence judgments were not significantly different, however for nontarget objects the negative group was only half as likely to express high confidence that they were targets. For both types of display there were positive and significant correlations between maximum target dimension and probability of detection. When the large training bias favoring the positive group is considered, it appears unlikely that either polarity should be considered as definitely superior for systems applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0609246
Entities
People
- Barbara A. Van Ausdall
- Herschel C. Self