Army Research Laboratory Technical Report: A Summary of Visual Gaze and Dwell Times for Army Pilots During Mission Simulations (ARL-TR-5900) Army Aviation Simulators

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate (ARL HRED) uses engineering helicopter simulators to assess crewstation design for Army Aviation aircraft. This report summarizes pilot (PI) visual gaze and dwell times obtained during operational missions conducted with seven engineering simulators. The data were obtained from pilots wearing a head and eye tracker during the simulations to identify if the crewstation design caused significant heads down time during missions. The visual gaze and dwell times for each simulator were compared to the other simulators. Analysis of visual gaze and dwell times will continue to play a meaningful role in the assessment and future development of Army Aviation systems.

Contents * Chapter 1. Introduction and Background * 1.1 Purpose * 1.2 Basic Anatomy and Function of the Eye * 1.3 Head and Eye Tracker System * 1.4 Limitations of a Head and Eye Tracker * 1.5 Army Aviation Engineering Helicopter Simulators * 1.6 AH-64D Apache Longbow Aircraft Description * 1.6.1 AH-64D RACRS Simulator Description * 1.7 ARH Aircraft Description * 1.7.1 ARH BHIVE 2 Simulator Description * 1.8 OH-58F CASUP Aircraft Description * 1.8.1 OH-58F CASUP BHIVE 2 Simulator Description * 1.9 UH-60M Aircraft Description * 1.9.1 UH-60M BHIVE 1 Simulator Description * 1.9.2 UH-60M SIL Simulator Description * 1.10 CH-47F Aircraft Description * 1.10.1 CH-47F Simulator Description * 1.11 TAIS Description * 1.11.1 TAIS Cockpit Simulation Description * 1.12 Air SS Description * 1.12.1 Air SS EUD Simulator Description * Chapter 2. Method * 2.1 Mission Descriptions and Setup * 2.2 Data Analysis * Chapter 3. Results * 3.1 AH-64D Eye Tracker Results * 3.2 ARH Eye Tracker Results * 3.3 OH-58F Eye Tracker Results * 3.4 UH-60M Eye Tracker Results * 3.4.1 UH-60M LEUE BHIVE 1 Eye Tracker Results * 3.4.2 UH-60M EUD BHIVE 1 Eye Tracker Results * 3.4.3 UH-60M LUT SIL Eye Tracker Results * 3.4.4 UH-60M Block III EUD Results * 3.5 CH-47F HSDH Demonstration Results * 3.5.1 Fixation Duration * 3.5.2 Saccadic Extent * 3.5.3 Fixation Frequency * 3.5.4 Blink Frequency * 3.5.5 HSD Visual Gaze Analysis * 3.5.6 RAD ALT Visual Gaze Analysis * 3.5.7 VSI Visual Gaze Analysis * 3.5.8 CH-47F HSDH Visual Gaze Conclusions * 3.6 Air SS EUD Results * 3.6.1 Visual Gaze During Navigation * 3.6.2 Ocular Activity Analyses During DVE Approaches * 3.7 TAIS SA into the Cockpit Results * 3.8 Comparison of Eye Tracker Data * Chapter 4. Conclusions * 4.1 Conclusions * Chapter 5. References * List of Symbols, Abbreviations, and Acronyms