Navigating Two-Dimensional and Perspective Views of Terrain

Abstract

Abstract : Many Command and Control tasks consist of the display of three-dimensional (3-D) objects and environments displayed on flat screens. The question is how to display such information so that it is understood and interpreted in the most effective manner for each different task. We considered the basic qualities and capabilities of two-dimensional (2-D) and 3-D views. We then proposed a distinction between tasks that require shape understanding and tasks that require precise judgments of relative position. We hypothesized that 3-D views are useful for understanding object shape, but 2-D views are more useful for understanding the relative position of objects. In a previous report, we confirmed these hypotheses in two experiments involving simple block shapes. We then extended the results to three experiments involving complex terrain where participants viewed a 7- by 9-mile piece of terrain in 3-D from a 45-degree angle, a 90-degree angle, or in 2-D as a topographic map. In this report, we describe a fourth experiment involving terrain. Participants were asked to estimate the latitude, longitude, and altitude distances between two points on a 7- x 9-mile piece of terrain. We found that these judgments of relative position were most accurate for terrain rendered as a 2-D topographic map. Adding grid and contour lines to the 90-degree angle 3-D views improved performance to the level of the topographic maps. Adding the grid and contour lines to the 45-degree angle 3-D views also improved performance, though not to the level of the topographic maps.