Spatial and Temporal (RAPCOM) Visual Display Formats and the Proximity Compatibility Principle

Abstract

RAPCOM (rapid communication) displays involve temporal presentation of information in the same spatial location and have been suggested to have useful potential for human-computer interactions involving high information transfer rates (cf., Matin and Boff, 1988). An experiment was conducted to evaluate the relative effectiveness of various spatial and temporal display formats for presenting information pertaining to the likelihood of aircraft stall using the simulated dynamics of a light aircraft. Specific spatial and temporal characteristics of the display formats were based on the proximity compatibility principle (PCP) which attempts to integrate findings regarding the benefits and limitations of displaying multiple sources of information in similar or “proximal” ways (Wickens and Andre, 1990; Carswell and Wickens, 1990).

The effectiveness of these display formats were compared for judgments which required the integration of three display parameters (airspeed, bank, and flap angle) to determine stall probability with those requiring focused attention necessitating the recall of the specific value of one of the parameters. For the complex monitoring task used in this experiment, temporal display formats were generally associated with the most accurate performance. Furthermore, the overall pattern of results was not consistent with design guidelines suggested by the PCP, and suggest difficulties when attempting to define “proximity” in terms of physical metrics based on spatial or temporal parameters.