Display Collimation and the Perceived Size of Flight Simulator Imagery
Abstract
Observers estimated differences in the apparent size and distance of simulated objects viewed on collimated and real-image displays. High-resolution target aircraft that remained stationary relative to the observer were superimposed on moving simulator background imagery. The aircraft were slide projections of F-15s viewed either from the side as during formation flight, or from behind and above, as during a gun pass. Both pilots and nonpilots were tested during simulated passive flight. For both the size and distance estimates, differences of 15-30% were found for formation flight at distances of 2,500; 6,000; and 9,000 ft; and differences of 10-20% were found for gun passes at distances of 1,000 and 2,000 ft. No significant differences were found in the data obtained from the pilots and nonpilots under any of the conditions tested. The data generally confirm, for simulator imagery, that both perceived size and perceived distance are significantly reduced when imagery is displayed at viewing distances of less than about 1 m as compared to when it is displayed at or near optical infinity. The implications of magnifying real imagery displayed within about 1 m of the observer, in order to correct for the perceptual size and distance effects reported here, are discussed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA359409
Entities
People
- Byron J. Pierce
- George A. Geri
- James M. Hitt Iii
Organizations
- RTX