TY - GEN
T1 - Spatial audio as a navigation aid and attitude indicator
AU - Simpson, Brian D.
AU - Brungart, Douglas S.
AU - Dallman, Ronald C.
AU - Joffrion, Jacque
AU - Presnar, Michael D.
AU - Gilkey, Robert H.
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - Most current display systems in general aviation (GA) environments employ, at best, relatively simple audio displays that do not fully exploit a pilot's auditory processing capabilities. Spatial audio displays, however, take advantage of the spatial processing capabilities of the auditory system and have the ability to provide, in an intuitive manner, comprehensive information about the status of an aircraft to the pilot. This paper describes a study conducted in order to assess the utility of spatial audio as (1) a navigation aid, and (2) an attitude indicator in an actual flight environment. Performance was measured in tasks requiring pilots to fly in the direction of a spatial audio "navigation beacon" and use an auditory artificial horizon display to detect changes in attitude and maintain straight and level flight when no visual cues were available. The results indicate that spatial audio displays can effectively be used by pilots for both navigation and attitude monitoring, and thus may be a valuable tool in supporting pilot situation awareness and improving overall safety in GA environments.
AB - Most current display systems in general aviation (GA) environments employ, at best, relatively simple audio displays that do not fully exploit a pilot's auditory processing capabilities. Spatial audio displays, however, take advantage of the spatial processing capabilities of the auditory system and have the ability to provide, in an intuitive manner, comprehensive information about the status of an aircraft to the pilot. This paper describes a study conducted in order to assess the utility of spatial audio as (1) a navigation aid, and (2) an attitude indicator in an actual flight environment. Performance was measured in tasks requiring pilots to fly in the direction of a spatial audio "navigation beacon" and use an auditory artificial horizon display to detect changes in attitude and maintain straight and level flight when no visual cues were available. The results indicate that spatial audio displays can effectively be used by pilots for both navigation and attitude monitoring, and thus may be a valuable tool in supporting pilot situation awareness and improving overall safety in GA environments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=44349167644&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/154193120504901722
DO - 10.1177/154193120504901722
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:44349167644
SN - 094528926X
SN - 9780945289265
T3 - Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
SP - 1602
EP - 1606
BT - Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 49th Annual Meeting, HFES 2005
PB - Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Inc.
T2 - 49th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2005
Y2 - 26 September 2005 through 30 September 2005
ER -