Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the role of individual differences in pilot perceptual abilities on their experience of head-up display (HUD) clutter during a simulated instrument approach. Pilot contrast sensitivity, useful field of view (UFOV) and field dependence were assessed using standardized instruments. When these measures were included in a model of perceived clutter based on pilot subjective ratings of HUD configurations in terms of display clarity, contrast, density and similarity of elements, the predictive utility of the model modestly increased. Contrast sensitivity was found to be the most influential perceptual ability, with UFOV also being a predictor of perceived clutter. High contrast sensitivity for higher spatial frequencies was associated with higher ratings of overall clutter, while greater contrast sensitivity for moderate spatial frequencies was associated with lower ratings of clutter. Better performance on the UFOV measure of divided attention ability was associated with lower ratings of clutter, while better performance on the selective attention processing speed scale was related to higher clutter ratings. However, these variables had a much smaller degree of influence on clutter ratings than contrast sensitivity.
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