Helicopter Pilot Estimation of Self-Altitude in a Degraded Visual Environment
Abstract
Human variability in self-altitude perception is well known, but the effect of night vision devices (NVDs) that provide a degraded visual image is unknown. Thirteen Army aviators with normal vision flew five flights (day, day-40 degrees field-of-view (FOV), night vision goggle (NVG), NVG-right tube only, and Pilot's Night Vision Sensor (PNVS), a monocular thermal sensor) in a modified AH-1 Cobra helicopter. Subjects estimated their altitude or flew to specified altitude while flying a series of maneuvers. The results showed that the subjects were better at detecting and controlling changes in altitude (relative altitude estimation) than they were at flying to or naming a specific altitude (absolute altitude estimation). In cruise flight and descent, the subjects tended to fly above the desired altitude (underestimation), an error in the safe direction. While hovering, the direction of error was less predictable. In the low-level cruise flight scenario tested in this study, altitude control was affected more by changes in image resolution than by changes in FOV or ocularity. In hovering flight, altitude control was the worst while using the PNVS. This may be due to degraded image resolution, specific thermal image characteristics, or physical peculiarities of the PNVS system (continued)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA385106
Entities
People
- Alan Lee
- John Crowley
- Loran Haworth
- Zoltan Szoboszlay
Organizations
- United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab