The Influence of Ship Deck-Edge Lighting on Perception of Position and Movement During Helicopter Recovery
Abstract
Accurate perception of position and self-movement is a critical factor for many tasks in aviation; particularly low-level flight, take off and landing. An especially demanding task of this kind is that of deck landings for rotary-wing aircraft, which are often conducted during the night. During night operations, ship-based lighting is used to assist the aircrew and flight-deck staff in the conduct of take-off and landing. While reasonably effective, the lighting systems currently employed by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) were not designed specifically with the aim of enhancing aircrew visual perception. In two experiments a deck-edge light (DEL) system which provides a richer visual cueing environment for the aircrew than traditional point-source lighting systems was investigated in terms of its potential benefits for aircrew visual perception. These experiments could reveal no clear performance advantage for DELs over standard point-source lights. In both experiments, participants were asked to make ratings of their confidence in their judgments. Only a very weak relationship was found between accuracy and confidence, suggesting that care should be exercised when subjective ratings are interpreted in place of performance data. Further investigation is required in order to understand the potential of DEL systems for enhancing the safety of night operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA462950
Entities
People
- Christopher Best
Organizations
- Defence Science and Technology Group