Frame Rate Effects on Visual Discrimination of Landing Aircraft Deceleration: Implications for Virtual Tower Design and Speed Perception

In order to help determine the required visual frame rate for the design of remote/virtual airport towers, thirteen active air traffic controllers viewed high dynamic-fidelity simulations of landing aircraft and decided whether the aircraft would stop before the end of the runway, as if to be able to make a runway turnoff. The viewing conditions and simulation dynamics replicated visual rates and environments of transport aircraft landing at small commercial airports. Three frame rates were used: 6, 12, and 24 fps. The frame rate that would be needed to produce asymptotic performance was estimated from a model fit to perceptual discriminability (d’) of the condition in which the aircraft would stop. The required frame rate appears to range from 30-60 fps, but definitive recommendations require further testing at a higher rate in the range of 45-60 fps. Errors and reports of judgment certainty show performance was roughly steady state. Anecdotal reports of increased apparent speed due to low frame rates are objectively confirmed. Some implications for the perceptual design of a remote tower are briefly discussed.