Human Efficiency for Visual Detection of Targets on CRT Displays Using a Two-Level Multiple Channel Time History Format

Abstract

Human observers were tested for their ability to detect targets on visual displays. The displays simulated the multiple channel time history format of sonar displays, using two levels of intensity encoding. A target was presented on 50% of the trails and appeared as a vertical line at a fixed position. Observers indicated their judgment as to whether a target was present by using a four-category rating scale. Receiver-operating characteristics (ROCs) were generated from the rating data and compared to ROCs for an optimal detector. Data were collected for two signal-to-noise ratios and for 32, 64, and 128 lines of data. Results indicated that observers were 3-5 dB less sensitive than an optimal detector. Performance improved as the number of lines increased, but not to the extent predicted by optimal integration of information across lines of the display. Human inefficiency with this display is possibly due to the inability to focus on a single column of data or to the use of a suboptimal decision rule for judging the presence of the target.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 02, 1987
Accession Number
ADA188419

Entities

People

  • Joseph Divita
  • Thomas Hanna

Organizations

  • Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biomedical Research
  • Classification
  • Clustering
  • Coding
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Efficiency
  • False Alarms
  • Intensity
  • Judgment
  • Luminance
  • Motor Skills
  • Observers
  • Probability
  • Ratings
  • Security
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
  • Radio communications and signal processing.