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Synthetic vision systems provide an in-cockpit view of terrain and other hazards via a computer-generated display representation. Two simulator-based experiments examined several display concepts for synthetic vision and evaluated how such displays modulate pilot performance. Experiment 1 (24 general aviation pilots) compared 3 navigational display (ND) concepts: 2D coplanar, 3D, and dual-perspective. Experiment 2 (12 commercial airline pilots) evaluated baseline “blue sky-brown ground” or synthetic-vision-enabled primary flight displays (PFDs) and 3 ND concepts: 2D coplanar with and without synthetic vision and a dynamic multimode rotatable exocentric format. In general, the results pointed to an overall advantage for a dual-perspective format, whether it be stand-alone (Experiment 1) or available via rotatable viewpoints (Experiment 2). Furthermore, Experiment 2 revealed benefits associated with utilizing synthetic vision in both the PFD and ND representations and the value of combined ego- and exocentric presentations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in implementing 3D pictorial displays for traffic information in aircraft has been prevalent for decades without any obvious implementation in the cockpit. Our research is focused on design issues for these displays. The purpose of the experiments discussed here was to investigate where and when additional spatial cues, e.g., drop-lines, could contribute to better performance and whether such additions could replace shifts between 2D and 3D presentation for different tasks. Our results show that drop-lines are beneficial in focused attention tasks but are not necessarily beneficial in more integrated tasks. This speaks to the need for an adaptive approach to the presentation of flight situation displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic vision information systems (SVIS) are the next generation of cockpit display systems that will become an integral part of the commercial flight deck in the future. The goal of this study was to evaluate SVIS against conventional glass cockpit displays to assess whether or not SVIS can improve pilot performance, situation awareness (SA), and workload. The evaluation was conducted in a fixed-based laboratory flight simulator located in the Operator Performance Laboratory at the University of Iowa. A total of 12 pilot evaluators hand-flew fairly difficult approaches into the Eagle County, Colorado, airport. Specially designed questionnaires were used in various phases of the flights to estimate workload. S.A. and user preference. Information relating to SA was collected using the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique and workload estimates were obtained using the NASA Task Loading Index technique. Eye movement data were collected using a modified IScan ETL 500 system, and analyzed to find a link analysis (an analysis of eye movement transitions between areas of duration of fixations. Flight technical error performance was derived. Analysis results indicate that the SVIS is superior to the conventional displays for the majority of the measures that were obtained in the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]