RESEARCH ON VISUAL TARGET DETECTION. PART I. DEVELOPMENT OF AN AIR-TO-GROUND DETECTION/IDENTIFICATION MODEL

Abstract

The object was to develop a simple, operational model for predicting air-to-ground visual detection/identification of tactical targets. The model, based on data from the literature, was limited to conditions of daylight and clear visibility. A preliminary model was developed using data from a field study (J.A. Whittenburg, J. P. Robinson and J. M. Hesson. Aerial observer criterion field test manual. Arlington, Va., Human Sciences Research, Inc., Sept. 1959. HSR-RR-59/4-CE) of air-to-ground detection/identification of tactical targets. Variables to be included in the model were selected from a list of variables found to be important in previous studies. The model includes estimates of eight input variables--target size, target shape, target/ground contrast, clutter, terrain type, aircraft altitude, aircraft speed, and range--which were grouped into three composite variables (target apparent size, target distinctiveness, and effective exposure time). A numerical summary of relevant studies on target detection/identification and a description of model calculations are presented as appendices.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1965
Accession Number
AD0619275

Entities

People

  • John A. Whittenburg
  • Margaret E. Franklin

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Cloud Cover
  • Collision Avoidance
  • Contrast
  • Detection
  • Geography
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Identification
  • Illumination
  • National Security
  • Operations Research
  • Psychology
  • Reconnaissance
  • Target Acquisition
  • Target Detection
  • Target Recognition

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