The purpose of this study was to investigate the reaction time versus set size dependence for searches in a complete sphere with and without the presence of a spatially correlated audio cue. An experiment evaluated the effectiveness of spatial audio displays on target acquisition performance. Participants performed a visual search task with and without the aid of a spatial audio display. Potential target locations ranged between plus and minus 180 deg in azimuth and from -70 deg to +90 deg in elevation. Independent variables included the number of visual distractors present (1, 5, 10, 25, and 50) and the spatial audio condition (no spatial audio, free-field spatial audio, and virtual spatial audio). Results indicated that both free-field and virtual audio cues engendered a significant decrease in search times. Potential applications of this research include the design of spatial audio displays for aircraft cockpits and ground combat vehicles.
Abstract