An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of localized auditory information on visual target detection performance. Visual targets were presented on either a wide field-of-view dome display or a helmet-mounted display and were accompanied by either localized, nonlocalized, or no auditory information. The addition of localized auditory information resulted in significant increases in target detection performance and significant reductions in workload ratings as compared with conditions in which auditory information was either nonlocalized or absent. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of participants' head motions revealed that the addition of localized auditory information resulted in extremely efficient and consistent search strategies. Implications for the development and design of multisensory virtual environments are discussed. Actual or potential applications of this research include the use of spatial auditory displays to augment visual information presented in helmet-mounted displays, thereby leading to increases in performance efficiency, reductions in physical and mental workload, and enhanced spatial awareness of objects in the environment.
This paper describes an approach for integrating cognitive analysis in the early stages of design of a new, large scale system --a next generation US Navy Surface combatant. Influencing complex system designs in ways cognizant of human-system integration principles requires work products that are timely and tightly coupled to other elements of the system design process. Analyses were conducted, and recommendations made in parallel with, and as inputs to design decisions regarding system purposes, functionality, automation capabilities and staffing levels. We could not wait for design decisions to be made before proceeding or require other design groups to wait for our outputs. Thus, it was necessary to select and adapt cognitive work analysis methods to fit the demands of a time pressured design situation. A functional abstraction hierarchy model, and a series of cross-linked matrices were developed to provide a principled mapping between system function decompositions produced by system engineering teams, cognitive tasks, information needs, automation requirements, and concepts for displays. Cross-referencing the matrices supported design traceability standpoint and the integration of cognitive analyses with functional analyses being performed by other design teams. Results fed into design decisions with respect to level of automation, manning requirements and initial display prototypes. Providing an illustration of the processes and methods we applied is valuable because it describes and formalizes the relationship between concepts used in cognitive analyses and those used in systems engineering; it demonstrates the generalizability of cognitive engineering methods in a set of circumstances where few well documented examples exist; and it provides guidance for other human factors practitioners who may find themselves in similar circumstances.
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