Identification of Environmental Elements Important for Simulating Visual Low-Altitude Flight.
Abstract
Previous research has revealed that two properties of natural scenes dominate perception during low-altitude flight: (a) terrain shape and (b) object size. Experiments conducted in flight simulators reveal that these two properties can be rendered with sufficient perceptual fidelity in computer-generated scenes. In addition, a third property related to presence or absence of terrain texture becomes evident when using computer-generated scenes due to comparisons involving a control condition consisting of scenes with completely textureless terrain. Laboratory experiments reveal that information for perceiving self-motion can be traced to fairly specific stimulus properties. The purpose of the present experiment was to identify specific components of natural scene elements that mediate perception during low-altitude flight. The stimulus set consisted of computer-generated scenes exhibiting both natural scene elements revealed to be important in previous experiments plus geometrically regular shapes and surfaces intended to represent components of natural scene elements. These stimuli served in a multidimensional scaling analysis which revealed that perception of terrain surface relief is based upon elevation differences in the vertical depth axis whereas perception of flat terrain is based upon a horizontal perspective gradient. Perception of large objects is based upon discrete shape in the vertical plane whereas perception of a second type of object is based upon discrete shape in the horizontal plane. This information provides a basis for designing simulated scenes which highlight specific relevant information.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA303546
Entities
People
- James A. Kleiss
Organizations
- University of Dayton