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Two experiments are reported that contrast egocentric vs. exocentric features of perspective (3D) or plan view (2D) electronic map displays for supporting local guidance and global awareness. Pilots used these displays for a simulated approach to a landing along a curved approach, through a terrain-filled region. The task was simulated on an IRIS visual graphics workstation. In Experiment 1, a rotating vs. fixed-map display was experimentally crossed with a 2D vs. 3D (perspective map) view as 24 pilots were assessed in their ability to maintain the flight path (local guidance) and demonstrate global awareness of surrounding terrain features. Rotating displays supported better flight path guidance in both the lateral and vertical axes, and did not substantially harm performance on the task of recalling the location of terrain features. Map rotation also supported better performance in locating features from an ego-referenced but not a world-referenced perspective. 3D displays provided a slight advantage for lateral guidance but a substantial cost for vertical control, because of the ambiguity with which perspective viewing depicted precise altitude. In Experiment 2, 10 pilots flew with the rotating 2D display, and with an improved version of the rotating 3D display, using color coding to reduce the ambiguity of altitude information. Vertical control improved as a result of the 3D display design improvement, but lateral control did not. Assessment of terrain awareness on a map reconstruction task revealed marginally better performance with the 2D map. The results are discussed in terms of the costs and benefits of presenting information in 3D, ego-referenced format for both local guidance and global awareness tasks.

One hundred and twenty-one older drivers (ages 55-86) followed a lead car in a driving-simulator. They were asked "to keep at a safe and comfortable distance" behind the lead car, to respond if they wished to a separation indicator which provided a visual signal when the lead vehicle was closer than 26 m, and to cancel a distracting light. When the older drivers' performance is compared to that of a control group of 25 younger drivers (ages 30-44), it is found that the ability to match the varying speed of the lead car of most of the older drivers is indistinguishable from that of the younger drivers, but that a few older drivers have a substantially worse performance. Any additional task reduces performance of all the drivers but the older drivers were able to use an indication of the distance between the cars to reduce the effect of the distracting task. >

A major portion of the research conducted throughout the history of aviation psychology has been devoted to the analysis and design of cockpit displays. Military and commercial aviators, as well as the travelling public, have significantly benefited from many years of research that have produced displays that facilitate safe and effective crewmember performance. As Koonce (1984) pointed out, the human performance issues raised in the early days of aviation attracted the research attention of some of the most prominent experimental psychologists of the day. As we enter the 21st century, aviation psychology remains one of the most vital areas in applied psychological research, and the design of advanced cockpit displays still serves as a focal point for innovative research programs and paradigms.

This piece is a reply to commentary on an original article by Wickens et al. (2000) in this publication that examines the relevance of aircraft predictor information to the availability and deployment of pilots' visual attention. The author deals with comments raised regarding the limitations of the results of the laboratory experiments regarding their ability to generalize to the real world target environment of the aircraft flying in a free-flight environment.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) can be designed to adapt to the driver's current needs, for example, taking the traffic conditions in the immediate vicinity of the ego vehicle into account. This motivates the design of a system intended to measure the local traffic conditions in a way, which corresponds to the driver's perception of traffic conditions. A new method of measurement is introduced. It is based on automotive sensor technology. A stochastic approach is employed to optimise and evaluate the relationship between the subjective measurements made by the driver and the objective measurements presented. To this end, the drivers' subjective ratings are taken as reference. The analysis presented here is based on simulation data. The outcomes show that the design of the developed simulation environment is applicable to this work. It is shown that the objective measures correspond to the driver's subjective ratings. Thus, it is possible to estimate the driver's perception of traffic conditions using a technical measurement. The algorithm in its presented form is appropriate to give an estimation, which can be used as an input parameter for ADAS.

OBJECTIVE: This experiment attempted to identify the features of air traffic geometry that would influence the difficulty and biases of pilots' conflict detection using a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI). BACKGROUND: There was previously no systematic study on effects of such features on conflict detection using the CDTI. METHOD: Twenty-four pilots viewed dynamic encounters between their own aircraft and an intruder aircraft on a simulated CDTI; difficulty was varied by the intruder aircraft's distance and time to closest point of approach (CPA), relative speed, miss distance at CPA, approach side, and conflict angle. Participants estimated the intruder's location at, and its time to, CPA. Effects on three estimation error measures were explored: intruder's miss distance at CPA, orientation at CPA, and time to CPA. RESULTS: (a) Estimation errors increased with slower speeds, longer times to CPA, and longer distances to CPA and with longer miss distances at CPA; (b) the best performance occurred at a conflict angle of 90 degrees; (c) there was a bias to judge conflicts to be more risky than was actually the case; and (d) there was a "distance-over-speed" bias, such that two aircraft farther apart and converging rapidly were perceived as less risky than when they were closer to each other and converging at a slower rate, despite identical time to CPA. CONCLUSION: Pilots' conflict detection with CDTI was subject to various errors and biases, which has important safety implications. APPLICATION: The design of procedures, displays, and decision support tools for the free flight environment needs to take these human performance limitations into account. Language: en

Understanding current and forecast weather conditions for a planned route of flight is vital for general aviation (GA) pilots. Weather information can be obtained from multiple sources and in multiple formats, ranging from abbreviated code provided by aviation weather forecasters to animated graphical displays available on TV and the Internet. The present study investigated the effectiveness of graphical displays of meteorological information. A commercially available graphical display was ergonomically redesigned and the original and redesigned displays were compared with an ordinary text statement. Recall of information was significantly affected by display type. Comparisons showed the ergonomically redesigned display to be superior to the ordinary text statement. Performance was affected by participants' general level of familiarity with evaluating data displays as measured by their area of study (sciences or humanities). The generalizability of the results to the pilot population is discussed.

In this article, the authors present an approach predicated on the assumption that the major goal of Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems ( IVHS) is to serve the road user, and therefore the optimal systems approach is founded on a driver-oriented architecture.

Information display systems have become increasingly complex and more difficult for human cognition to process effectively. Based upon Wicken's Multiple Resource Theory (MRT), information delivered using multiple modalities (i.e., visual and tactile) could be more effective than communicating the same information through a single modality. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to compare user effectiveness when using visual-tactile task feedback (a multimodality) to using only visual task feedback (a single modality). Results indicate that using visual-tactile feedback enhances task effectiveness more so than visual feedback (g = .38). When assessing different criteria, visual-tactile feedback is particularly effective at reducing reaction time (g = .631) and increasing performance (g = .618). Follow up moderator analyses indicate that visual-tactile feedback is more effective when workload is high (g = .844) and multiple tasks are being performed (g = .767). Implications of results are discussed in the paper.

Vehicle driving support systems such as navigation systems and dead-angle warning systems make us safer and more comfortable. These kinds of systems provide only visual and auditory information. However, visual driving support systems are restricted in driver's field-of-view and auditory warning signals can lose in radio music, engine noise, or conversation noise. Tactile displays using vibration motors can provide useful information in spite of restricted field-of-view and noisy environment. It may quickly draw the attention of the driver when important events occur: for instance, collision warning and directional cues. These intuitive and quick cues may be combined together with the visual and auditory display to give multimodal feedback to the driver. In this paper, we present a vibrotactile display device for providing safety information to drivers. User studies with the vibrotactile device on the top of the foot show 86.7% recognition rate for alphabet characters after some training and 83.9% for providing driving safety information

Dins de: Gavrilova, M. et.al (eds). Computational Science and Its Applications - ICCSA 2006: International Conference, Glasgow, UK, May 8-11, 2006, Proceedings, Part I. Springer(Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3980) A multi-visibility map is the subdivision of the domain of a terrain into different regions that, according to different criteria, encodes the visibility concerning a set of view elements. In this paper we present an approach for computing a discrete approximation of a multi-visibility map of a triangulated terrain corresponding to a set of view segments, for weak and strong visibility, by using graphics hardware Partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia under grant TIN2004-08065-C02-02. Marta Fort is also partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia under grant AP2003-4305. Narc´ıs Madern is also partially supported by the Ministerio de Educaci´on y Ciencia under grant BES2005-9541

In this study we contrast display-control movement relations defined in terms of stimulus-response (physical) compatibility with those defined by stimulus-cognitive compatibility, and we relate these findings to the issue of command versus status levels of decision aid support. A second issue addressed is the cost of inconsistency across multiple display-control mappings. Subjects performed a flight control task while responding to one to four analog indicators, formatted as either command or status displays. The results suggest that there is an advantage for the status format when subjects are required to verbally report the state of the indicator(s), but no advantage was found for either format when subjects were required to manually correct the indicated state. The data point to the importance of display-control consistency and suggest that it may even outweigh that of compatibility.

This pilot study was conducted to obtain preliminary information regarding alternative signalling presentations and symbologies for the Driver-Alert Warning System design within the In-Vehicle Safety Advisory and Warning System Program sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration. Preliminary analysis had been conducted by both Hughes Aircraft Company and The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The pilot study concentrated of the driver attributes of understanding, relative effectiveness and signalling format. Thirteen subjects were exposed to the new pictograms prototyped on a Macintosh computer and were requested to verbalize their understanding and preferences in regard to varying signalling characteristics. These characteristics included, a) monochrome, b) color, c) blink, d) tone, e) text message and f) voice message. The results indicated that, as a group, the combination of color, audio tone, text and voice message was the preferred signalling presentation. Gender differences were noted with the female subjects indicating a preference for the combination that included color and blink. All pictograms were recognizable by the subjects and all subjects agreed that IVSAWS would be a substantial aid to the driver.

This paper focuses on the provision of public transport information in Dublin, Ireland. It examines both existing and potential methods of accessing information, with particular focus on the implementation of various intelligent transport systems applications. One of the main objectives of this paper is examining the stages a passenger goes through when deciding to undertake a public transport trip and in what form they require information at each stage. This paper defines these stages as "pre-trip to destination," "at-stop," "onboard," and "pre-trip to origin" (this is the return journey). Each of these four stages is examined in this paper. A web-based survey was used to collect data on passenger preferences and describes the methods of information delivery each passenger requires at each stage. This paper primarily deals with the respondents' stated preference for public transport information and does not examine revealed preferences. The survey also details results of passengers' opinions of the different information provision formats such as call centers, mobile phones, the Internet, and paper-based methods. This paper concludes with the results of this exploratory research

This paper presents an application of visual display technology in automotive head up displays.

This paper reports on the DRIVE II project known as HARDIE whose main objectives are to propose recommendations for the presentation of messages to drivers and establish the feasibility of guidelines and standards to be adopted for in-vehicle presentation. The focus is on Man Machine Interface standards to promote safety.

Twelve drivers (6 ages 18-30.6 over 65) participated in an experiment While seated in a vehicle mockup, they were shown slides of residential intersections photographed from the driver's viewpoint. Simultaneously, drivers saw slides of a navigation display. Drivers indicated if the two hages were for the same or different type of intersection (cross. Y. T, etc.). ?he response times indicated that Head-Up-Display-mounted displays were better than consolemounted displays (1524 versus 1630 ms). that aerial views were slightly better than plan views (1501 versus 1523 ms) and much better than perspective views (1706 ms). Finally. responses to displays where the roads were shown as solid objects were more rapid than to those shown as outlines (1557 versus 1597 ms). Emr and preference data supported these results. The results from this experiment should be validated with on-road data.

This paper reports on a study of the effect of headway displays on driver following behavior. A visual color display, mounted in the instrument panel, was designed to indicate to drivers whether the headway they maintained was appropriate for the vehicle speed. Various human factors issues concerning the design and development of a headway display, are experimentally addressed.

This study investigates the influence of driver characteristics such as age, education and gender on memory recall performance and subjective preferences for different in-car map displays. Results show that whereas age and educational level variables have specific and significant effects on both subjective preferences and recall performance, gender makes no difference whatsoever. Some psycho- ergonomic recommendations are proposed for in-car display design and complexity to reflect driver characteristics.

This paper presents issues associated with the introduction into road vehicles of multiple information sources related to the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). Also, an argument is made for an In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS) to manage messages from the associated Intelligent Transportation System Services, as well as other information to be presented to the driver. The IVIS serves as the interface between the driver and all the information sources, including both input from and information display to the driver. Increasingly, aftermarket systems, such as routing and navigation aids, collision avoidance warning systems, yellow pages, can be added to vehicles to aid in travel and/or the conduct of business in the vehicle. The installation of multiple devices, each with its own driver interface, increases the likelihood of driver distraction and thus the risk of an accident. However, introduction of an IVIS raises a number of issues which relate to things such as proprietary messages, message prioritization across devices from different manufacturers, and safe access to the vehicle manufacturer`s proprietary data bus. These issues are the focus of this paper. Sections 1 and 2 of this paper present short summarizes of the efforts in a variety of areas related to in-vehicle information systems. In the first two sections, a summary of two Department of Transportation (DOT) initiatives is followed by a description of US standards development efforts. Next is a brief consideration of institutional, jurisdictional and legal issues associated with in-vehicle systems and the accompanying infrastructure. Section 3 of the paper is devoted to systems integration and driver interface engineering issues.

In this paper, an over of the development of car instrumentation is given, followed by a view of the future requirements for Man-Machine Interface in the car based on existing and planned functions. The different display technologies are briefly characterized for usability in automotive instrumentation systems, and arguments are given for the change from electromechanical meters and indicator lamps, to a reconfigurable graphic display system as the only source for dashboard information.

Using an in-car instrumentation may sometimes even conflict with driving requirements. Drivers can easily solve such problems provided designers have taken the necessary precautions by providing for optimum display location, and clear organization, and by allowing good legibility in all conditions of illumination. The purpose of the present paper is to list the required standards and identify the gaps to be filled in by appropriate research.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the thoughts behind defining developing and evaluating a Head-Up Display (HUD) car intended for use within the Prometheus program. The goals behind the project are to: demonstrate HUD technology, demonstrate future traffic information content, and evaluate potential advantages to the driver.

Display technologies in the current market range from the simple and cheap incandescent bulb behind a graphic overlay to the upwardly expensive flat panel high definition plasma display. To provide a foundation of understanding for Light Emitting Polymers (LEP), samples were imaged in a scanning electron microscope. This was preformed to identify a potential method for answering questions on polymer charge mobility and diffusion mechanisms, which are currently unknown. Light Emitting Polymer (LEP) displays offer a viable alternative to the active matrix style, when an application calls for information to be sent in a simple visible format. By using the flexibility of the fabrication process, LEP displays can be applied to offer a low cost, lightweight, and durable means of communicating information during shipboard damage control and firefighting. A unique screen printing method was used in collaboration with Add-Vision, to produce a prototype that was designed, fabricated and tested for use in Naval shipboard firefighting evolutions. The application of the LEP technology to shipboard damage control was motivated by the experience gained from being both the Officer in Charge of a Naval Firefighting School and from time in the Fleet as a Damage Control Officer. http://archive.org/details/lightemittingpol109452314 Lieutenant, United States Naval Reserve Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

An increasing number of electronic displays, ranging from small hand-held displays for general aviation to installed displays for air transport, are showing navigation information, such as symbols representing navigational aids. The wide range of display technology and the different functions these displays support makes it difficult to design symbols that are easily recognizable across platforms. The goals of this effort are to identify features of navigation symbology that are problematic when presented on electronic displays and to develop a method to design and evaluate symbology that takes into account the different media (e.g., paper vs. electronic) and platforms on which they will be displayed. We address four questions to consider when evaluating the usability of a symbol: (1) Is the symbol easy to find? (2) Is the symbol distinctive from other symbols? (3) Is the on-screen symbol size appropriate? (4) Can all encoded attributes of the symbol be decoded quickly and accurately? Background findings and a proposed experiment to explore some of the higher-level issues related to the design of effective symbology are described.

Young drivers in Israel, as in other parts of the world, are involved in car crashes more than any other age group. Green Light for Life is a new program that seeks to improve the quality of the experience of young drivers during the mandatory accompanied driving period. As part of the efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of this program a novel experiment, which uses information gathered from an in-vehicle data recorder (IVDR) is conducted. The DriveDiagnostics IVDR system, which is used in this study, can identify over 20 different maneuver types in raw measurements and use this information to indicate overall trip safety. Drivers receive feedback through various summary reports, real-time text messages or an in-vehicle display unit. Preliminary validation tests with the system demonstrate promising potential. In the experiment, the DriveDiagnostics system is installed in the primary vehicle driven by the young driver in 120 families. The experiment is designed to test the impact on driving behavior of participation in the program and the type of feedback drivers receive from the system. The data collection part of the experiment is scheduled to run for 8 months for each family.

This paper describes a 2–1/2 year project concerning human factors and future driver-information systems. The project goals are to (1) develop human factors guidelines, (2) devise test methods for safety and ease of use, and (3) develop a model that predicts driver performance when using these systems. A literature review has been completed and focus groups that identified driver needs have been conducted. In addition, a method was developed to select the most beneficial systems using accident reduction, congestion relief, and driver needs/wants as the criteria. Consequently, car phones, navigation, traffic information, vehicle monitoring, and hazard warning systems were selected for further study. Preliminary versions of each have been designed and laboratory tests are in progress. Usability tests in a driving simulator and on the road are scheduled.

A survey was distributed and an experiment was performed to analyze two air traffic control (ATC) color-coded display formats: (1) the currently used plan view display format, and (2) a perspective display format. The results of both the survey and experiment were used to extract specific user requirements from which specifications could be applied to design a three-dimensional, dynamic, color-coded, perspective display for use in an ATC environment. The emphasis of the survey and current experiment focused on the air traffic controller's point of view in terms of cognitive workloads, task and information requirements, color preferences, and air traffic workloads relative to traffic density and complexity. Fifteen full-performance air traffic controllers performed three timed tasks: (1) resolve impending air traffic conflicts, (2) identify the callsigns of aircraft in the highest and lowest actual altitudes, and (3) reconstruct air traffic situations. Two levels of traffic density were crossed with two display types for six different ATC scenarios. The results indicated that for the conflict resolution task performance was faster for the perspective display format only in the lower density level, and performance was the same for both display types in the higher density level. Performance for altitude extraction task for both density levels was faster for the perspective display format than for the plan view display format. Performance was the same for the reconstruction task for both display types and both density levels. Finally, performance was faster for the conflict resolution task than for the altitude extraction task across both display types and both density levels.

This paper presents a cognitive analysis of a pilot's navigation task and describes an experiment comparing a new map display that employs the principle of visual momentum with the two traditional approaches, track-up and north-up. The data show that the advantage of a track-up alignment is its congruence with the egocentered forward view; however, the inconsistency of the rotating display hinders development of a cognitive map. The stability of a north-up alignment aids the acquisition of a cognitive map, but there is a cost associated with the mental rotation of the display to a track-up alignment for tasks involving the ego-centered forward view. The data also show that the visual momentum design captures the benefits and reduces the costs associated with the two traditional approaches.

Commercial airplanes are now a weapon of mass destruction to be used in asymmetric warfare against the United States. There is a clear need for enhanced situational awareness within the passenger cabin of airplanes. If the crew suspected that the security of an aircraft had been compromised it would be critical for a crew member to be able to clearly and rapidly see what is occurring inside the passenger cabin without having to open the door to the cockpit. In case of emergency it would also be extremely valuable for ground personnel and aircraft responding to the emergency to be able to visually monitor what is happening inside the aircraft cabin.

NASA's Aviation Safety Program, Synthetic Vision Systems Project is conducting research in advanced flight deck concepts, such as Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems (S/EVS), for commercial and business aircraft. An emerging thrust in this activity is the development of spatially-integrated, large field-of-regard information display systems. Head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems are being proposed as one method in which to meet this objective. System delays or latencies inherent to spatially-integrated, head-worn displays critically influence the display utility, usability, and acceptability. Research results from three different, yet similar technical areas - flight control, flight simulation, and virtual reality - are collectively assembled in this paper to create a global perspective of delay or latency effects in head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems. Consistent definitions and measurement techniques are proposed herein for universal application and latency requirements for Head-Worn Display S/EVS applications are drafted. Future research areas are defined.

In the summer of 2000, the National Safe Skies Alliance awarded a project to the Applied Visualization Center at the University of Tennessee to develop a 3D computer tool to assist the US Federal Aviation Administration security group, now the Transportation Security Administration, in evaluating new equipment and procedures to improve airport checkpoint security. At the time of this writing, numerous detection equipment models, three specific airports, and a placement and passenger flow simulation tool for airport security planners have been developed. Similar tools have been constructed for simulating cargo/baggage inspection and other airport security operations. An extension of the original effort to consolidate the tools is currently underway.

A process-oriented approach by systematically studying driver performance, distraction, and workload is the way to go for assessing safety effects of new telematics applications in vehicles. These systems may strive for drivers' attention and possibly lead to distraction from the primary task. Visual occlusion techniques appear to be an effective means of studying drivers' visual information processing performance. Studies to illustrate this include identifying the minimum visual information drivers need for driving (asking for visual information) and the evaluation of driver support systems such as heading control and adaptive cruise control with respect to visual workload. In other applications the occlusion technique is used to exclude 'visual array' information from the optic flow field. The temporary exclusion of part of the visual field of view was applied in evaluating the effects of different types of driver's side rearview mirrors.

It is very important for drivers to obtain driving information easily and efficiently. There are many advanced devices used for driving safety assistance. Of these assistance devices, the head-up display (HUD) system can promote the reduction of driver's reaction time and improve spatial awareness. The drivers' attitude towards and preference for HUD system are crucial to design the functional framework and interface of HUD system. This study explored the relationships between drivers' attitude and HUD presentation image designs using stated preference data from questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included drivers' attitude towards the use of HUD and the preference for the information display zone and information display elements of the HUD. Contrastive analysis was adopted to examine the variations in drivers' attitude and preference for age and driving skills. According to the results, the participants have varying attitudes to HUD system, but most participants show relatively unified preference for the information display zone and information display elements. The results can also be used to customize a HUD presentation image which is in accordance with the drivers' feelings and preferences.

In the first part of the reported research, 12 instrument-rated pilots flew a highfidelity simulation, in which air traffic control presentation of auditory (voice) information regarding traffic and flight parameters was compared with advanced display technology presentation of equivalent information regarding traffic (cockpit display of traffic information) and flight parameters (data link display). Redundant combinations were also examined while pilots flew the aircraft simulation, monitored for outside traffic, and read back communications messages. The data suggested a modest cost for visual presentation over auditory presentation, a cost mediated by head-down visual scanning, and no benefit for redundant presentation. The effects in Part 1 were modeled by multiple-resource and preemption models of divided attention. In the second part of the research, visual scanning in all conditions was fit by an expected value model of selective attention derived from a previous experiment. This model accounted for 94% of the variance in the scanning data and 90% of the variance in a second validation experiment. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance on choosing the appropriate modality for presenting in-cockpit information and understanding task strategies induced by introducing new aviation technology.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three visual depth cues, and combinations of these cues, in a dynamic air situation display. The study was conducted to help determine how best to display aircraft location to a pilot. Three different depth cues (stereo 3-D, aerial perspective, and familiar object size), were investigated. Additionally, two levels of display density (13 or 25 aircraft) were evaluated. The results of the study indicated that the number of depth cues, which ranged from zero to three, affected the subject's ability to determine aircraft location. Display density also affected performance. However, the particular type of depth cue did not have a differential effect. In other words, it makes a difference if one or two depth cues are displayed, but not the particular cues used.

This paper presents a cognitive model of a pilot's navigation task and describes an experiment comparing a visual momentum map display to the traditional track-up and north-up approaches. The data show the advantage to a track-up map is its congruence with the ego-centered forward view; however, the development of survey knowledge is hindered by the inconsistency of the rotating display. The stable alignment of a north-up map aids the acquisition of survey knowledge, but there is a cost associated with the mental rotation of the display to a track-up alignment for ego-centered tasks. The results also show that visual momentum can be used to reduce the mental rotation costs of a north-up display.

This paper reports the results of several studies designed to investigate commuter behavior and decision making with the goal of obtaining functional requirements for a user-based advanced driver information system (ADIS). To achieve this objective, the following tasks were performed: (1) a large sample survey was administered to 9, 652 motorists commuting to a downtown location, (2) an in-depth interview was conducted focusing on the individual motorist's commute, and (3) a questionnaire was administered to investigate the relationship between various forms of graphical traffic information on commuter behavior and decision making. The information obtained from the above studies is being used to design traffic information screens that form the focal part of an ADIS.

The effects on performance from the use of icons and alphanumerics in pilot-vehicle interfaces were investigated in an experiment. Varying numbers of single status display indicators were presented in both iconic and alphanumeric formats in fixed and random display positions across three levels of difficulty. Subjects' ability to maintain a tracking task while concurrently searching and selecting appropriate display indicators was tested. Results indicated that for all numbers of indicators presented, icons produced faster search and selection reaction times. Significant interactions were also found for format type and difficulty level. Questionnaire assessment revealed that subjects preferred the iconic to the alphanumeric formats. Implications for the design of aircraft interfaces and further research suggestions are discussed.

Two studies investigate the effects of presentation modalities (visual/auditory/repeated auditory) and complexity levels of different in- car road information on subjective preferences and on perceptual and cognitive performances of drivers. In real driving situations, each driver was alerted by a ringing signal prior to the presentation of a road information message or a map display associated with a road guidance message; the experimenter asked each driver 30 s. later to recall the message or the itinerary. Results suggest that in real driving situations, short auditory road information messages or associated with map displays optimize perceptual and cognitive performances and driving safety; written messages are of greater interest if screened when the vehicle is at rest.

A three-dimensional (3-D) auditory display imposes directionality to audio signals, over headphones, so that they are perceived as originating from unique spatial locations outside the listener's head. This study evaluated subjects' localization performance with a Directional Auditory Display (DIRAD) synthesizer. Subjects' ability to perceive the direction of target sounds in the azimuth plane was measured as a function of head movement with four types of audio stimuli. Results showed significant localization performance differences as a function of sound location, head movement condition and stimulus type. These results help to define the functional requirements of a 3-D auditory display prior to the integration of synthesized directional audio into flight simulators and advanced aircrew systems.

A perspective view of of Japanese R&D activities of Driver Information Systems is given from the standpoint of developing joint projects by public and private sectors. First, a brief history of the R&D activities is illustrated from above mentioned standpoint. Then, two major projects, AMTICS and RACS, and the social backgrounds of these projects are explained. In order to give a clear idea of both projects some technical details are treated.

The recent development of dynamic information systems for public transport passengers in numerous French towns and cities is based on two major technological innovations: videotex, which is in more widespread public use in France than anywhere else; and electronic control of bus fleets (AVM). This article gives a first brief survey of this development. It describes the main dynamic information systems in use, what is involved and how these systems are integrated into the public urban transport service, reports on the first comments on public use, and finally mentions a few economic considerations on the basis of current experience. Videotex services provided by local authorities and transport companies have only partly found their domestic users, in spite of constant ergonomic improvements and the inclusion of transport information with news of urban activities (e.g. trade and leisure). Systems to help people waiting at stops, in spite of the relatively high investment cost (inevitable for an innovation),...

Recently, number of on-board visual display, such as a navigation system is increasing. A driver gazes such display in short period of time in driving. Thus, it is important to improve visibility of the on-board display. We propose two methods about visibility improvement of on-board display. First, we mention about simulating method of creation of the perceived brightness distribution of a scene which is useful for design of the high visibility on-board display. Second, we describe displaying method for the on-board display to control luminance and chromatic saturation of displaying image. Both methods are based on the adaptation property of human vision. Experimental results of subjective and objective evaluation that compare the conventional display and our new one indicate the effectiveness of the second method.

The Nara Prefectural Police HQ developed and began operating a traffic movement display system. Unlike the conventional method of traffic condition display on a wall map which extracts traffic volume or flow data in time series and expresses its changing conditions from moment to moment as a quantity, this new system enables the spatiotemporally continuous expression of traffic volume or traffic flow. This paper introduces the traffic movement display system which is considered to be an effective means for an intelligent transport system (ITS) and discusses its applications to the wall map display including the identification and display of specific vehicles such as buses and trucks by making the best use of this system of information obtainable from infrared beacons which also perform a part of the ITS.

The author suggests how the driving experience might be improved by providing drivers with information brought onboard the vehicle by compact disc and transmitted to and from the vehicle through appropriate communication links. He suggests three possible feature sets-cellular telephone enhancements, travel assistance, and business/professional. He offers several travel assistance features as solutions to anticipated traffic congestion problems. He contends that historic solutions of additional roadway construction will not be possible. He stresses the need for cooperation between the automotive, electronic component, and government traffic agencies in order that the most cost-effective solutions be implemented. >

An experimental project using computer display terminals to provide real-time traffic information for pre-trip planning purposes is being implemented and evaluated. Ten terminals will be installed at Greenway Plaza, and one additional computer display terminal in the Public Information Office. The objective of the motorist information project is to provide accurate and timely information on freeway construction, accidents, and disabled vehicles. The information on the computer display terminals will be obtained from several commercial traffic advisory services, the Motorist Assistance Program, courtesy patrol radio, and transit authority, law enforcement, and other emergency vehicles. Additional roadway condition reports and incident management information that relate to traffic operations will be provided to these terminals by the Interim Traffic Control Center. >

The author reviews technology for supporting automated vehicle navigation. This technology ranges from simple map displays showing the current location of the vehicle to complex interactions between onboard electronics and a supporting infrastructure to provide intelligent guidance on the selection of driving routes. It is concluded that an infrastructure-intensive route guidance environment does not provide the functionality, the reliability, the flexibility, the coverage, or the performance that is necessary to make in-vehicle navigation viable in the marketplace. It is further concluded that distributed route guidance does provide these characteristics, using proven technology, at significantly lower costs than central systems. >