The Use of Aiding Techniques and Varying Depth Volumes to Designate Targets in 3-D Space

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a hand tracker to designate targets using a three-dimensional (3-D) map. Three variables were manipulated: 1) hand tracker active volume, 2) aiding technique, and 3) target density. There were three different volumes (large, medium and small) in which the hand tracker operated. Each volume represented cockpit space in which hand tracker movements correlated to cursor movements on the screen. Two aiding techniques were referred to as contact aiding and proximity aiding. Contact aiding consisted of a color shade change to the target when the cursor penetrated the target volume. Proximity aiding consisted of an algorithm that selected the target closest to the cursor and thus changed its color shade. Two target densities, high (16 targets) and low (8 targets), were used. Speed and accuracy were measured in the designation of targets using a hand tracker. Results showed that proximity aiding in the medium volume space yielded the best performance.