Preliminary Study on Scanning Techniques Used by U.S. Coast Guard Lookouts during Search and Rescue Missions,
Abstract
This research was a cooperative study undertaken by the US Coast Guard Research and Development Center (USCG R&D) and the US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL). Eye performance data were collected from Coast Guard personnel performing as lookouts during simulated search and rescue missions on HH-3F helicopters, a 210-foot cutter, and an 82-foot cutter. Visual performance was measured by means of NAC Eye Mark Recorder systems during the Winter 1981 Visual Detection Experiment conducted by the USCG R&D Center in the Gulf of Mexico off of Panama City, Florida, during January and February, 1981. The visual performance measures were analyzed to determine the scanning patterns utilized by the various lookouts. Based upon this initial study, it appears that most personnel spend about one half of search time on only one segment of their total assigned viewing area. For example, pilots and copilots spend most of their time looking out their respective front windows. For the surface vessels, the subjects seemed to display the condition termed eye lock -- that is, a lookout would position his eyes and keep them stationary, allowing the movement of the search vessel to dictate his scan path. The scanner patterns prescribed in the US Coast Guard training manuals were used infrequently; rather the observers followed the outline of structures within their fields of view.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA120597
Entities
People
- Jimmie R. Watson
- N. Joan Blackwell
- Ronald R. Simmons
Organizations
- United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab