Cognitive Requirements for Aircraft Navigation
Abstract
This thesis presents a cognitive analysis of a pilot's navigation task, and using this foundation, describes an experiment comparing a new map display, employing the principal of visual momentum, to the two traditional track-up and north-up approaches. The visual momentum display is based on the characterization of the pilot's navigation task as the maintenance of a cognitive link between two reference frames (RFs) -- the ego-centered reference frame (ERF) an the world-centered reference frame (WRF). The ERF corresponds to the pilot's forward view of the world and the WRF corresponds to a north-up geographic map. The new map display employs visual momentum by presenting the ERF, in the form of a perceptual wedge, in the context of a north-up map's WRF. An experiment was conducted to assess the different displays using licensed pilots to perform diverse navigation tasks in the context of computer simulated helicopter missions. As predicted, the data showed the advantage to a track-up map is its congruence with the ERF; however, the development of survey knowledge is hindered by the inconsistency of the rotating display. Keywords: Theses, Navigation computers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA222736
Entities
People
- Anthony J. Aretz
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology