Multisensory Interface Design for Complex Task Domains: Replacing Information Overload With Meaning in Tactical Crew Stations

Modern aerial combat represents a highly complex task domain that imposes many significant challenges on aviators. In modern cockpits there are more sources of dynamic information than any single pilot has the ability to attend to, let alone comprehend, all at once. As technological developments lead to the deployment of new weapons systems, the future aerial battlefield will inevitably yield increased levels of complexity. A significant challenge for cockpit designers is to devise pilot-vehicle interfaces that take full advantage of the parallel information extraction capabilities of humans through the use of integrated multisensory displays. This article describes an approach to multisensory display development that uses human performance evaluations as a design tool, and concludes with a description of a multisensory crew station designed by an interdisciplinary team.