A Comparison of Terrain Association and Resection as Methods of Position Location

Abstract

This research examined two methods of position fixing, terrain association and resection to determine which would result in faster and more accurate judgments of location. The research was conducted in the Surface Navigation and Orientation Trainer (SURNOT), which projects slide images a full 360 degree field of view. Two groups of soldiers (n = 12 each) were shown terrain scenes, given a 1:50,000 topographic map of the area, and located their position by terrain association and resection. Overall, performance was poor: There was no significant difference in accuracy of solution between the two groups (723 meters average error), but terrain association was approximately 3 minutes faster. The results were interpreted in terms of a two-stage position fixing model, and suggest that errors in position fixing occur early in the process. Keywords: Land navigation; Mental models; Position finding.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA189480

Entities

People

  • Gerald I. Dewey
  • Joseph T. O'hanlan Jr

Organizations

  • U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Cognition
  • Experimental Design
  • Judgment
  • Land Navigation
  • Materials
  • Military Research
  • Navigation
  • Navigational Equipment
  • Navigators
  • Position (Location)
  • Position Finding
  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Standards
  • Surface Navigation
  • Training

Readers

  • Geodesy