The eye movements characteristics in focal and ambient vision tasks in a pilot selection program

J. Szczechura and M. Malawski

Polish Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine, Warsaw, Poland

 

The study was designated to evaluate the differences in eye movements characteristics and accuracy of perfoming dynamic visual tasks. The visual tasks consisted in controlling a position of a prisms picture. Pilots control the position and rotation of the prisms by two joysticks. The focal and ambient vision task was considered as a part of helicopter pilot selection program. The prisms is started peripherally in the left and right corners of the multi functional, collimating visualization systems. The focal vision loading task were accomplished by having the pilot respond to a series evenly spaced three number sequences. These sequences were presented centrally on the visual screen. The apparatus (a part of the helicopter simulator "Hyperion") was fitted with visual graphics system which provides multi colored, computer generated, real time interactive pictorial displays. The "Hyperion" screen measures approximately 40 deg visually and 180 deg horizontally. The summarized data of five consecutive trials were entered into statistical procedure and compared with eye movement tests. The subjects were the Air Force Academy candidates selected for the study - males aged 19-21. Thirty candidates were studied. The eye movements were measured by the ASL Eye Tracking System 4100H. The tests also includes profiles of pursuit and saccadic movements during observation of bright spot trajectory. The obtained results indicates differences between the process of pursuit and saccadic movements on the "Hyperion" simulator. The methodology of pilot's pursuit and saccadic movements performance may be utilized in the process of aircrew selection.


Poster presented at Measuring Behavior '98, 2nd International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research, 18-21 August 1998, Groningen, The Netherlands

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