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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2003., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75)., y Maura C. Lohrenz., S.M.

Vector map databases offer the potential for customised cockpit moving-map displays, in which user-specified cartographic features can be layered to meet mission requirements. The disadvantage of vector moving-maps is the potential for increased user workload. In 1995, the Naval Research Laboratory and the Naval Air Weapons Center jointly performed a preference study, during which aircrew viewed demonstrations of prototype moving-map displays and responded to a detailed questionnaire concerning the usefulness of each display. This paper summarises aircrew interviews from that study pertaining to both vector moving-map displays and vector feature overlays, including Height-Above-Threshold (HAT), threat rings, and Clear Line-of-Sight (CLOS)., Published in the Journal of Navigation, v53 n1 p93-113, Jan 2009. Prepared in cooperation with DCS Corporation and University of South Mississippi.

In visual search, preattentive processes locate potential target regions and selective attention is directed to potential target locations. The current experiments examined the role of global visual clutter in participants' ability to deploy attention to target regions containing relatively more or less local clutter. Participants searched maps of high, medium, or low global clutter for a target in a high or low local clutter region. Global and local clutter influenced search time, with larger effects of local clutter as global clutter increased. In addition, there was no effect of set size on search time. We propose that the preattentive process of detecting regions likely to contain the target is less efficient as the amount of global clutter increases. Furthermore, in complex images and real world search tasks, global and local clutter measures can provide a good predictor of search efficiency when search set size is difficult to determine., Grant No. NRL BAA 08-09, BAA 55-07-01. LSU Proposal No. 33507. Submitted to the Journal Perception.

Article gives a brief history of military cockpit displays, and highlight the research taking place to enhance future moving map capabilities., Prepared in collaboration with Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. Published in The Defence Management Journal, PSCA International Ltd., Ebenezer House, Staffordshire, UK. The original document contains color images.

In visual search, preattentive processes locate potential target regions and selective attention is directed to potential target locations. The current experiments examined the role of global visual clutter in participants' ability to deploy attention to target regions containing relatively more or less local clutter. Participants searched maps of high, medium, or low global clutter for a target in a high or low local clutter region. Global and local clutter influenced search time, with larger effects of local clutter as global clutter increased. in addition, there was no effect of set size on search time. We propose that the preattentive precess of detecting regions likely to contain the target is less efficient as the amount of global clutter increases. Furthermore, in complex images and real world search tasks, global and local clutter measures can provide a good predictor of search efficiency when search set size is difficult to determine., Submitted to the journal "Perception." Additional NRL Grant No. 55-07-01.

This report documents a substantial revision of the Moving-Map Composer (MMC) system designed and developed by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Geospatial Processing and Analysis (GeoPAL) Team (Code 7440.1). This version of MMC has been extended for use on personal computers (PCs) and is referred to as MMCPC. This is the first edition of the MMCPC Software User's Manual, to be distributed with MMCPC software release 1.0. MMCPC is specifically designed and configured to support Finland Air Force (FiAF) F/A-18 mission planners and pilots in the field. MMCPC is a software application developed for installation on a Windows XP computer configured with a standard 16-bit PCMCIA drive, or PC card drive, for reading and writing Tactical Aircraft Moving-Map Capability (TAMMAC) mission and theater map data loads. MMCPC enables users to perform the following functions: process FiAF source Geo-referenced Tagged Image File Format (GEOTIFF) files into a Compressed Arc Digitized Raster Graphics (CADRG)-compatible format; process FiAF or National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) source Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) into a TAMMAC-compatible regridded DTED format (RDTED); define and save regions of interest (ROIs) for mission and theater map data loads as a series of bitmap representations: populate these regions of interest with data from user-specified FiAF GeoTIFF files (converted to CADRG-like files via MMCPC), NGA CADRG, FiAF and/or NGA RDTED, and NGA Controlled Image Base (CIB) databases; import and convert non-georeferenced images into TAMMAC-compatible data frames; write completed TAMMAC theater map data loads to PC cards for aircraft loading; and build Mission Planning loads from user-specified CADRG; RDTED, CIB, and data frames., The original document contains color images.

This paper presents an Automated Change Detection and Classification (ACDC) System, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), which aids analysts in performing change detection in real-time (RT) by co-registering new and historical imagery and using automated change detection algorithms that suggest imagery changes. In this paper, ACDCRT components are described and results given from a recent change detection experiment., Presented at the Oceans 2007 Conference held in Aberdeen, Scotland on 18-21 June 2007.

Estimations of seafloor clutter (also called mine-like echoes) and roughness (bottom relief) are needed during mine warfare operations to determine seafloor type for a geographic region of interest. Analysts at the Naval Oceanographic Office estimate bottom clutter and roughness from sidescan sonar imagery (SSI). However, detecting clutter and determining roughness manually is often time consuming and can produce inconsistent results. The Naval Research Laboratory has developed an algorithm to automatically derive seafloor roughness from SSI. In repeated trials, results of the automated roughness algorithm correlated well (as high as 87%) with manual roughness estimations., Presented at the Oceans 2007 Conference, held in Aberdeen, Scotland on June 18-21, 2007. Published in the Proceedings of the Oceans 2007 Conference.

The Moving Map Composer - Personal Computer (MMCPC) software is specifically designed and configured to support Finnish Air Force (FiAF) F/A-18 mission planners and pilots in the field. Previous versions of the MMC were installed on Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) Alpha workstations, which used the OpenVMS operating system and supported the AN/ASQ-196 Honeywell digital map system. MMCPC is a Microsoft (MS) Windows-based software application that provides data processing and mission/theater map data load support for the Tactical Aircraft Moving-Map Capability (TAMMAC) Digital Map System (DMS). This software release of MMCPC, in sole support of the FiAF F/A-18 program, contains substantial software modifications to meet specific FiAF requirements., The original document contains color images.

This document provides detailed Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP) to be followed during the final test and evaluation of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Moving Map Composer - Personal Computer (MMCPC) System, Version 1.0, developed for the Finnish Air Force (FiAF). The ATP was successfully completed by NRL and FiAF representatives at FiAF headquarters in Halli, Finland, in August 2005., The original document contains color images.

This document is the training manual for the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Moving Map Composer - Personal Computer (MMCPC) System, Version 1.0, developed for the Finnish Air Force (FiAF). Training was conducted in August 2005, immediately following the Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP) in Halli, Finland at Patria Aviation., The original document contains color images.

This paper investigates competing influences of display content and clutter on pilot performance during flight guidance and target acquisition phases of air-to-ground targeting missions. Based on interviews with F/A-18 pilots, a cognitive process model is presented to help understand how pilots use and transition between internal and external sources of information to support decision-making and aircraft control. Experiments were conducted in which subjects flew targeting missions using a flight simulator connected to the Navy’s FalconView moving-map. In one experiment, subjects referred to three versions of the display: 1) a detailed map overlaid with critical mission symbology, 2) the map only, and 3) mission overlays only. Flight guidance and target acquisition performances were best with the overlays-only display. Performance was comparable or worse with the combination display and significantly worse with the map only, suggesting that the distraction of map clutter countered the benefits of map content.

A technique is presented to cluster geospatial features on an electronic display and determine a meaningful measure of display clutter. An algorithm previously developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to cluster objects in sidescan imagery has been modified to cluster any displayed features in three dimensions: geospatial location (x, y) and color (z). This paper presents preliminary results of the clustering algorithm and cluster density calculations for a series of electronic displays with varying levels of clutter. The clutter metric correlates with preliminary, subjective clutter rankings. Our next step in validating this method will be correlating the metric with user performance., Proceedings of the Industry Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS) 2006 Conference, 13-15 Mar, Cocoa Beach, FL. The original document contains color images.

An accurate estimation of seafloor roughness derived from sidescan imagery (SSI) is one of the components needed to determine bottom type of a geographic area for mine warfare. Analysts at the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) historically have estimated roughness manually. This paper describes the development and testing of a prototype algorithm capable of deriving roughness from SSI. It also presents results from a feasibility study that showed that the algorithm correctly identified a smooth navigation lane and generated roughness polygons that are approximately 84% consistent with manual roughness polygons over the same area., Published in the Proceedings of the Industry Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS) 2006 Conference Held 13-15 Mar 2006 in Cocoa Beach, FL. The original document contains color images.

This document provides detailed Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP) to be followed during the final test and evaluation of the FiAF (Finnish Air Force) Moving-Map Composer (MMC) System version 3.4P developed for the FiAF. This ATP is specifically designed to test the primary functions of the FiAF system that has been delivered and installed at FiAF Headquarters in Tikkokoski, Finland on April 24-25,2003. Please note that the delivered MMC system does not include the Digital Memory Unit (DMU) or its interface and those functions are not included as part of this ATP.

This report documents the Moving Map Composer (MMC) software system developed by scientists in NRL Code 7440.1. This is the third edition of the MMC User's Manual (the first and second editions are NRL/FR/7441--97-9677 and NRL/FR/7440--00-9983, respectively) and reflects changes that were implemented for the version 3.4P release of MMC., The original document contains color images.

This report provided an installation guide and training manual for the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Moving Map Composer (MMC) Version 3.4P software system, which was developed for the Finland Air Force (FiAF). Installation and training will be performed later this year in Finland on an FiAF-owned Digital Alpha computer., The original document contains color images.

This paper investigates competing influences of display content and clutter on pilot performance during flight guidance and target acquisition phases of air-to-ground targeting missions. Based on interviews with F/A-18 pilots, a cognitive process model is presented to help understand how pilots use and transition between internal and external sources of information to support decision-making and aircraft control. Experiments were conducted in which subjects flew targeting missions using a flight simulator connected to the Navy's Falcon View moving-map. In one experiment, subjects referred to three versions of the display: (1) a detailed map overlaid with critical mission symbology, (2) the map only, and (3) mission overlays only. Flight guidance and target acquisition performances were best with the overlays-only display. Performance was comparable or worse with the combination display and significantly worse with the map only, suggesting that the distraction of map clutter countered the benefits of map content., Published in the Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Annual Meeting (48th), held in New Orleans, LA, on September 20-24, 2004. The original document contains color images.

An electronic mapping system, installed on a vehicle, can provide an accurate and visual depiction of the operating environment to the vehicle operator. This enhanced situational awareness (SA) is useful in critical decision-making and operational safety. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed and tested a moving-map (MM) system based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and government-off-the- shelf (GOTS) software for amphibious assault vehicles. The MM system consists of a computer, display -and software depicting the position of the vehicle, obtained via the Global Position System (GPS), as an icon overlaid on a geo-registered map. This configuration can be run in either north-up or track-up mode. In north-up mode, the map is always displayed with north at the top of the display, and the icon moves as the position of the vehicle changes. In track-up mode, the map moves as the direction of travel changes with the forward direction at the top of the display. In this mode, the icon remains stationary over the moving map.

Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) drivers have only a small portal through which to navigate a lane. Therefore, their ability to attend to outside visual cues, such as marker buoys, maybe seriously diminished by physical barriers such as sea spray, darkness, fog, and other factors. Landing craft crew workload can be intense: the driver has numerous electronic devices to monitor, up to 18 infantry Marines to transport, and a relatively narrow lane in which to safely navigate. Thus, any new systems to be introduced must be very easy to interpret and understand. A new navigational system for these platforms should "be capable of conveying critical information concerning navigation ? in a manner that is easily interpretable under often stressful conditions' (Lohrenz, et. al.). There is minimal space inside AAVs, with just enough room for a predetermined number of Marines and their equipment. The device should be small and unobtrusive to minimally hinder normal operations. Assault and landing craft can be very difficult to control. Waves, currents, wind, and the speed of the vehicle all factor into this challenge. A digital navigation tool, such as a moving-map, could aid a driver in controlling the vehicle by displaying the vehicle's current location and track, along with upcoming waypoints and lane boundaries (e.g., if the craft tends to drift left, then try to stay to the right side of the lane). To meet the demands and concerns of mine countermeasures and amphibious communities, NRL is investigating various mapping systems and developing software to compress different map types and imagery into a displayable format.

This report documents the Moving Map Composer (MMC) software system developed by scientists in NRL Code 744O.1. This is the third edition of the MMC User's Manual (the first and second editions are NRL/FR/744l--97-9677 and NRL/FR/7440--OO-9983, respectively). The third edition reflects changes that were implemented for the latest release (version 3.5) of MMC. The MMC software is resident on the Map-II Station portion of the AV-8B Mission Support System, which NRL designed and configured in support of AV-8B mission planners and pilots in the field.system, The original document contains color images. All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

Scientists from the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center (NRLSSC) have developed a software tool called Moving Map Composer (MMC) to help aircrew design and build mission-specific digital aeronautical chart coverage for use in mission planning systems and inflight moving-map displays. Aircrew can also use MMC to edit and incorporate other sources of information into these mission-specific coverage files MMC is comprised of a series of Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) and low-level C language applications that Simplify complex tasks including data fusion, chant design, editing, and file management. This paper provides a functional overview of MMC and its applications Design issues that were encountered during the course of product development and the methods that were created for their resolution are also addressed., The original document contains color images. All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white. Prepared in collaboration with Planning Systems Inc., Slidell, LA.

The Tactical Aircraft Moving Map Capability (TAMMAC) Program (NAVAIR PMA-209) has identified the use of vector map products as a high priority growth item. The TAMMAC Program will conduct an EME) effort during FY03-FY05 to incorporate the use of vector map data, specifically, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency's (NIMA) Vector Product Format (VPF) standard. In support of this effort, the Naval Research Laboratory was tasked to evaluate the potential functional benefits of vector map data and specific NIMA vector map products. This study focused on the functional aspect of using vector maps in the cockpit. The results from this effort are to help develop and refine the implementation requirements of vector maps as a growth item in TAMMAC and influence requirements for future map displays. In addition, the results are to help segregate the mission planning aspects of vector map mission planning from cockpit functional needs., The original document contains color images. All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

The U.S. Navy has identified the need for an accurate, user-friendly navigation device to guide amphibious craft drivers. The standard navigation equipment in these craft has proven inadequate. Problems associated with the current navigation processes include, but are not limited to, low visibility, complex task management, and cramped internal space. A moving map system provides the user with an accurate and visual depiction of the operating environment. This enhances both the driver's and the navigator's situational awareness, which is required for critical decision-making and operational safety. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been developing and testing moving-map devices hosted on commercial hardware and software in an effort to demonstrate such a navigation system on a variety of platforms. This system would provide helpful information to the craft operator, including determining position, displaying position, aiding in controlling position, and displaying waypoints., Pub. in Proceedings of the Industrial Engineering & Management Symposium, p2-6 July 2003. Presented at the Industrial Engineering & Management Symposium held in Cocoa Beach, FL on July 2003.

The objectives of the moving maps (MM) are to demonstrate improved precise land navigation of naval Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) and Landing Craft Utility (LCU) using moving-map (MM) display and to measure navigation performance access crew workload: comparing MM with "baseline" navigation methods., Presented at the East Coast Amphibious and Mine Counter-Measures (MCM) Workshop held in Panama City, FL on 9-10 September 2003. The original document contains color images.

A critical issue in military aviation is the pilot's ability to transition between primarily internal (head-down, instrument-driven) and external (head-up, out of the cockpit) guidance. Experimental cockpit displays were designed and tested for how well they might support this transition phase for military pilots performing time-critical air-to-ground targeting missions such as Forward Air Control and Close Air Support. Twelve subjects performed three sets of experiments using a flight simulator (with simulated heads-up display in the forward field of view) connected to a moving-map display. The experiments were designed to help explain which visual cues in the displays might best help a pilot 1) navigate to a given target area ("flight guidance" phase of a mission) and 2) search for, find and identify a target (the "target acquisition" phase).

This document provides detailed Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP) to be followed daring the final test and evaluation of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Moving-Map Composer (MMC) version 3.4 P software, developed for the Finnish Air Force (FAF). The ATP will be performed on a FAF-owned Digital Alpha computer, currently located at NRL, during the Test Readiness Review (TRR) #1 and during installation and training in Finland.

Cockpit moving-maps have provided heightened situation awareness to Navy fighter pilots for over ten years. The Navy now plans to install a moving-map into its multifunction MH-60S helicopter, which will perform sea-based missions such as combat search and rescue and mine countermeasures. The authors surveyed 49 Navy helicopter aircrew for their preferences with respect to four map types and six graphic overlays. Participants rated each resultant display for its potential to support naval helicopter missions. Aeronautical charts were rated highest, followed by bathymetric displays, nautical charts, and acoustic imagery. Preferred overlays included flight path, threat rings, historical mine data and seafloor bottom type.

Cockpit digital map displays have long been considered a good situational awareness (SA) tool for the pilot. However, due to limited computational capabilities in tactical aircraft, most cockpit map displays have been limited to the display of digitized paper charts and imagery. One significant problem encountered by tactical aircraft pilots is map display clutter. Important mission planning and real-time overlays are often rendered over the map display during flight. The clutter resulting from the combination of these overlays with the underlying map display can lead to reduced situational awareness. Unfortunately, the feature content of digitized paper charts and imagery cannot be altered to help alleviate the clutter. Next-generation cockpit maps, like Vector map displays, will allow the crew to customize the map, embed information within it, and declutter it. Of course, there may be a tradeoff between the potential of added flexibility in the cockpit versus a potentially higher pilot workload. A web-based Vector Map survey was developed to gather Navy and Marine Corps aircrew preference data to evaluate functional aspects of vector maps in the cockpit and in mission planning. The aircrews who responded to the Vector Map survey represented a full cross-section of Navy and Marine Corps Tactical and Rotary Wing platforms, and they had or were expected to have a requirement for cockpit Moving Map functionality. Results showed that the ability to declutter a map display was by far the highest ranked vector map function for all platforms for both mission planning and cockpit implementation. These results suggest that all the vector map functions demonstrated would be very beneficial, particularly in mission planning where more time can be devoted to map study. However, the study also suggests that there may be benefits to providing a reduced, predefined profile to the aircrew to declutter a map quickly. (2 tables, 1 figure, 4 refs.)

Vector-based maps are an advanced capability of digital moving-map systems that are easily customised and can be powerful aids to aircrew information processing and decision-making. However, they may place excessive demands on an aircrew's information processing requirements, cause an increase in workload, and degrade situational awareness if the user interface is not designed properly. There is little information available about the human factors and situational awareness issues relevant to vector-based maps. In this paper, we summarise relevant research on human factors and situational awareness aspects of using vector-based maps, identify key issues, and recommend directions for future research., Pub. in Journal of Navigation, v53 n1 p114-123, January 2000.

Wavelets and wavelet transforms can be used for vector-map data compression. The choice of wavelet, the level of decomposition, the method of thresholding, the height of the threshold, relative CPU times and file sizes, and reconstructed map appearance were investigated using the Wavelet Toolbox of MATLAB. Quantitative error measures were obtained. For two test vector-map data sets consisting of longitude and latitude points, compressions of 35 to 50 percent (1.5:1 to 2:1) were obtained with root-mean-square errors less than 0-003 to 0-01 deg longitude/latitude for wavelet packet decompositions using selected wavelets., Pub. in Journal of Navigation, v53 n3 p437-449, Sept. 2000. Presented at Symposium on 'Advanced Moving-Map Displays' held at US Naval Research Laboratory Detachment at the NASA Stennis Space Center, Mississippi on 3rd and 4th of Aug 1999. Prepared in cooperation with University of New Orleans.