Assessment of a Head-Mounted Miniature Monitor

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to assess the capabilities and limitations of the Private Eye, a miniature, head-mounted monitor. The first experiment compared the Private Eye with a cathode ray tube (CRT) and hard copy in both a constrained and unconstrained work envelope. The task was a simulated maintenance and assembly task that required frequent reference to the displayed information. A main effect of presentation media indicated faster placement times using the CRT as compared with hard copy. There were no significant differences between the Private Eye and either the CRT or hard copy for identification, placement, or total task times. The goal of the second experiment was to determine the effects of various local visual parameters on the ability of the user to accurately perceive the information on the Private Eye. The task was an interactive video game. No significant performance differences were found under either bright or dark ambient illumination environments nor with either visually simple or complex task backgrounds. Glare reflected off the bezel surrounding the monitor did degrade performance. It was concluded that this head-mounted, miniature monitor seems well suited for in situ operations that require ready reference to information and could serve a particularly useful role in microgravity environments.