An Analysis of the Immersed Perspective Flight Path Display Benefit: Benefits of Preview, Prediction, and Frame of Reference

A theoretical explanation for an immersed perspective flight path display is investigated in this current study. Past research suggests that the immersed perspective flight path display (" tunnel-in-the-sky ") can improve flight path tracking when compared to more conventional flight navigation instruments but at present the specific sources of this benefit have not adequately been explained. On the basis of past research, four properties of the tunnel were investigated. These are egocentric frame of reference, preview of the flight path, prediction of future aircraft location, and a high display gain. The four variables of frame of reference, preview, prediction, and display gain were experimentally contrasted in a partially crossed factorial design to investigate the relative contributions of each variable to the tunnel benefit. A quickened display condition was also included. Twenty-four subjects were asked to fly an aircraft through a series of vertically and laterally changing flight paths on a PC based simulation using eleven different displays incorporating the variables of interest. The dependent measures of root mean squared error in lateral and vertical tracking, mean number of resets, and mean number of control inputs were collected. The results showed that preview benefits were greater than those of prediction. An interaction of prediction and preview was found, with the benefits of prediction sometimes being contingent on the presence of preview. Explanations of control order account for the finding that prediction and preview benefited lateral tracking more than vertical tracking. The egocentric frame of reference was found to play a large role in the tunnel benefit. This was especially true in conjunction with preview such that performance without a tunnel was benefited by an egocentric viewpoint. The large cost of an exocentric frame of reference was mediated by the paired presence of prediction and preview in the altitude data. The larger display gain appears to account for no portion of the egocentric frame of reference benefit.