Visual information transfer. Part 1: Assessment of specific information needs. Part 2: Parameters of appropriate instrument scanning behavior

The present study explored eye scan behavior as a function of level of subject training. Oculometric (eye scan) measures were recorded from each of ten subjects during training trials on a CRT based flight simulation task. The task developed for the study incorporated subtasks representative of specific activities performed by pilots, but which could be performed at asymptotic levels within relatively short periods of training. Changes in eye scan behavior were examined as initially untrained subjects developed skill in the task. Eye scan predictors of performance on the task were found. Examination of eye scan in proximity to selected task events revealed differences in the distribution of looks at the instruments as a function of level of training

Visual information transfer. 1: Assessment of specific information needs. 2: The effects of degraded motion feedback. 3: Parameters of appropriate instrument scanning behavior

Pilot and flight crew assessment of visually displayed information is examined as well as the effects of degraded and uncorrected motion feedback, and instrument scanning efficiency by the pilot. Computerized flight simulation and appropriate physiological measurements are used to collect data for standardization

A robust design methodology suitable for application to one-off products

Robust design is an activity of fundamental importance when designing large, complex, one-off engineering products. Work is described which is concerned with the application of the theory of design of experiments and stochastic optimization methods to explore and optimize at the concept design stage. The discussion begins with a description of state-of-the-art stochastic techniques and their application to robust design. The content then focuses on a generic methodology which is capable of manipulating design algorithms that can be used to describe a design concept. An example is presented, demonstrating the use of the system for the robust design of a catamaran with respect to seakeeping

The effectiveness of an oculometer training tape on pilot and copilot trainees in a commercial flight training program

A study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a video tape detailing the various aspects of instrument scanning by experienced pilots on performance by pilots and copilots undergoing flight training in a Boeing 737 flight simulator. The performance ratings by instructor pilots (IP's) and self-reported instrument scan behavior by trainees were compared with those of a control group. The results indicated that the training tape had little or no effect on performance by trainees in the experimental group. Feedback from the IP's and trainees suggested that a feedback strategy providing each trainee's individual instrument scan behavior might be more beneficial in flight training than the general instructional strategy of the oculometer training tape. Flight training personnel and trainees' reports of performance decrements on or around the third day of flight simulator training were investigated. The IP's performance ratings of 27 pilot and copilot trainees failed to reveal a systematic performance decrement; however, feedback from the trainees revealed that their own attribution of performance decrements was associated with the order in which their training occurred within a session. Further research was suggested

The effectiveness of incorporating a real-time oculometer system in a commercial flight training program

The effectiveness of incroporating a real-time oculometer system into a Boeing 737 commercial flight training program was studied. The study combined a specialized oculometer system with sophisticated video equipment that would allow instructor pilots (IPs) to monitor pilot and copilot trainees' instrument scan behavior in real-time, and provide each trainee with video tapes of his/her instrument scanning behavior for each training session. The IPs' performance ratings and trainees' self-ratings were compared to the performance ratings by IPs and trainees in a control group. The results indicate no difference in IP ratings or trainees' self-ratings for the control and experimental groups. The results indicated that the major beneficial role of a real-time oculometer system for pilots and copilots having a significant amount of flight experience would be for problem solving or refinement of instrument scanning behavior rather than a general instructional scheme. It is suggested that this line of research be continued with the incorporation of objective data (e.g., state of the aircraft data), measures of cost effectiveness and with trainees having less flight experience

The effectiveness of incorporating a real-time oculometer system in a commercial flight training program

The effectiveness on pilot and trainee performance and scanning behavior of incorporating a real time oculometer system in a commerical flight training program was assessed. Trainees received simulator training in pairs requiring the trainees to alternate the order of training within a session. The 'third day phenomenon' of performance decrement was investigated, including the role of order of training on performance

Development of ride comfort criteria for mass transit systems

Two studies were conducted on the effects of simultaneous sinusoidal vibration in the vertical and lateral axes on ratings of discomfort in human subjects in a simulated passenger aircraft. In the first experiment each of 24 subjects experienced each of ten levels of vertical frequency in combination with each of ten levels of lateral frequency vibration and rated the discomfort produced on a nine-point, unipolar scale. In the second experiment 72 subjects experienced one of four levels of vertical frequency at each of four levels of vertical amplitude combined with 16 (or 4 x 4) lateral frequency and amplitude conditions. The results of these two studies strongly suggest that there are effects on discomfort that occur when subjects are vibrated in several axes at once that cannot be assessed with research using vibration in only one axis

Hypervelocity dust particle impacts observed by the Giotto Magnetometer and Plasma Experiments

We report thirteen very short events in the magnetic field of the inner magnetic pile‐up region of comet Halley observed by the Giotto magnetometer experiment together with simultaneous plasma data obtained by the Johnstone plasma analyzer and the ion mass spectrometer experiments. The events are due to dust impacts in the milligram range on the spacecraft at the relative velocity between the cemetery dust and the spacecraft of 68 km/sec. They are generally consistent with dust impact events derived from spacecraft attitude perturbations by the Giotto camera [Curdt and Keller, private communication]. Their characteristic shape generally involves a sudden decrease in magnetic field magnitude, a subsequent overshoot beyond initial field values and an asymptotic approach to the initial field somewhat reminiscent of the magnetic field signature after the AMPTE releases in the solar wind. These observations give a new way of analyzing ultra‐fast dust particles incident on a spacecraft

Effect of vibration in combined axes on subjective evaluation of ride quality

The effects of simultaneous sinusoidal vibration in the vertical and lateral axes on ratings of discomfort were investigated. The first experiment concentrated on the effects of variation of frequency in the two axes, and the second study concentrated on the effects of amplitude variation in the two axes

Cassini CAPS-ELS observations of negative ions in Titan's ionosphere: trends of density with altitude

Observations with the Electron Spectrometer sensor of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS-ELS) have revealed the existence of negative ions in Titan's ionosphere. Negative ions are observed during encounters whenever the instrument points in the ram direction at altitudes 950–1400 km. Complex hydrocarbon and nitrile chemical processes are believed to take place which play a role in haze formation. The heaviest ions observed so far have masses up to 13,800 amu/q. Using data from 34 Titan encounters, we show for the first time negative ion density trends of different mass groups, including total densities, with altitude. We determine peak densities and the associated altitudes at which they are observed and the highest altitudes at which individual mass groups are found