Pursuit Tracking Performance Decrements Associated with Decreasing Ambient Illumination.

Abstract

Reduction in ambient illumination alters one's ability to acquire and track moving targets. In this study we have attempted to describe the relationship between decreasing ambient illumination and pursuit tracking performance. Eight male volunteers used an optical tracking device to track targets at a constant angular velocity of 5 mrad/sec under bright and reduced ambient light levels was accomplished by inserting neutral density filters into the optics of the tracking device. Volunteers were assigned randomly to a schedule of 6 reduced ambient illumination. Analysis of Variance for the Percent Time-on-Target (%TOT), horizontal Root Mean Square (RMS) error, and Maximum Absolute Error (MAE) revealed highly significant main effects. Ambient light levels below 0.075 cd/sq.m. produced large tracking error scores (e.g., %TOT < 68%). The use of direct view optics below luminance levels of 0.18 cd/sq.m. could seriously jeopardize the success of the mission. Keywords: Pursuit tracking; Humans; Decreasing ambient illumination.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA189336

Entities

People

  • David A. Stamper
  • David J. Lund
  • Jerome W. Molchany

Organizations

  • Letterman Army Hospital

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Contrast
  • Data Science
  • Detection
  • Equations
  • Eye
  • Identification
  • Information Science
  • Measurement
  • New York
  • Optical Tracking
  • Optics
  • Radiometry
  • Recognition
  • Target Recognition
  • Visual Acuity

Readers

  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Radar Systems Engineering.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.