Toward the Ideal Military Aviation Sunglass,
Abstract
Sunglasses and sunvisors affect vision, but can they actually improve it? The effects of sunglasses on vision were modeled considering: (1) Duntley and Middelton's theoretical treatment of the propagation of light through the atmosphere; (2) the dependence of light scatter on wavelength; (3) Blackwell's extensive Tiffany data base describing human visual sensitivity to incremental, contrasting spot stimuli; and (4) human spectral sensitivity. With these factors, sunglass and visor characteristics were identified that maximize the range for detection of small objects. The ideal sunglass or visor thus identified increases the range at which objects can be detected by an average of 5% compared to the naked eye. By comparison, the standard 12% neutral filter currently used for aviator sunglasses decreases naked eye range by about 5%. This paper provides a theoretical framework that could be used in the design and evaluation of sunglasses and visors in environments where vision is critical.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA258154
Entities
People
- J. S. Marsh
- L. A. Temme
- W. B. Cushman
Organizations
- Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory