Synthetic vision system (SVS) cockpit displays depict computer-generated views of terrain surrounding an aircraft. This study evaluates terrain textures and fields of view (FOVs) in SVSs using judgment-based measures of spatial awareness. A total of 18 pilots made four judgments (relative azimuth angle, distance, height, and abeam time) regarding the location of terrain points displayed in 112 noninteractive 5-s simulations of an SVS head-down display. There were two between-subject variables (texture order and FOV order) and five within-subject variables (texture, FOV, and the terrain point's relative azimuth angle, distance, and height). Results showed that texture produced significant main and interaction effects for the magnitude of error in the relative angle, distance, height, and abeam time judgments. FOV interaction effects were significant for the directional magnitude of error in the relative distance, height, and abeam time judgments. Spatial awareness was best facilitated by the elevation fishnet, photo fishnet, and photo elevation fishnet textures. The findings suggest that these textures should be further evaluated in future SVS experiments.
Samenvatting