Using Relative Position and Temporal Judgments to Identify Biases in Spatial Awareness for Synthetic Vision Systems

Synthetic vision systems (SVS) are cockpit displays that depict terrain ahead of ownship to prevent controlled flight into terrain. This work investigated how spatial biases manifest themselves in SVS displays. Eighteen pilots made spatial judgments (relative angle, distance, height, and abeam time) regarding the location of terrain points displayed in 112 5-sec videos of SVS displays. Judgment error characterized spatial biases related to between-map scale differences in geometric field of view, within-map differences in distance, within-map differences in orientation, the virtual space effect, the filled distance effect, and time. Recommendations for future experimentation and modeling are made.