Investigating Issues of Display Content vs. Clutter during Air-to-Ground Targeting Missions

Abstract

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.