Enhancing Air Traffic Control Displays
with Principles of Conceptualization
in Perception and Language
Tim Clausner
University of Maryland Center for Advance Study of Language
Evan Palmer, Chris Brown & Carolina Bates
Wichita State University
Phil Kellman
UCLA
Air Traffic Control Displays Today
Two perceptual channels:
Graphical for location and heading
Alphanumeric for altitude
Depth Cues (Size and Contrast)
Smaller
Lighter
Larger
Darker
Altitude Correlated Depth Cues
(Palmer, Clausner & Kellman, 2008. ACM Trans Appl. Perception)
Hypothesis: Magnitude of spatial altitude can be visualized as perceptual
cues of size and contrast.
Altitude
150
200
250
300
Altitude
Bands
(hundreds
feet) 350
No Cues350
Size
Contrast
Size & Contrast
300
250
200
150
Visual Search Method
No Cue
Size
Contrast
Size & Contrast
Contrast Only
Size & Contrast
Perceptual cues were expected to enhance visual search for conflicts.
Student participants (N=40) searched for a conflict
Feedback
2 aircraft
7 aircraft
12 aircraft
Results
2 aircraft
No-Cue
7 aircraft
12 aircraft
Results
2 aircraft
No-Cue
7 aircraft
SizeCue
12 aircraft
ContrastCue
CombinedCue
Results
2 aircraft
No-Cue
7 aircraft
SizeCue
12 aircraft
ContrastCue
CombinedCue
Results
2 aircraft
No-Cue
7 aircraft
SizeCue
12 aircraft
ContrastCue
CombinedCue
Conclusions
• Size and contrast cues enhanced search performance,
equivalent to processing 5 more aircraft, for a given level
of performance.
• Size & Contrast cues were consistent with depth cues.
• Depth-consistent cues reduced missed conflicts.
Why did SIZE and CONTRAST cues enhance performance?
Depth
Magnitude Metaphor
LARGER & DARKER
IS CLOSER
MORE IS UP
Experiment 2
(Palmer, Clausner, Kellman. Human Factors Erg. Soc. 2009)
Depth-Consistent
Above
Below
Depth-Inconsistent
Experiment 2 Method
Depth-Consistent
Above
Below
Depth-Inconsistent
Vantage Point Instruction
Displays
MORE IS UP
MORE IS DOWN
Visual Search Procedure
Participants (N = 80) were instructed to imagine the scene from the
vantage point, they bodily experienced in training.
Equivalent Displays:
MORE IS UP
From ABOVE
From BELOW
Depth-Consistent
Depth-Inconsistent
Proportion Correct
Equivalent Displays:
MORE IS UP
p = .026
From ABOVE
From BELOW
Depth-Consistent
Depth-Inconsistent
Equivalent Displays:
MORE IS DOWN
From ABOVE
From BELOW
Depth-Inconsistent
Depth-Consistent
Proportion Correct
Equivalent Displays:
MORE IS DOWN
p > .89
From ABOVE
From BELOW
Depth-Inconsistent
Depth-Consistent
Conclusions
•
Conflict detection performance varied with imagined vantage
point.
•
Performance was best when Size & Contrast cues are
depth-consistent AND match a MORE IS UP metaphor,
imagined from above.
Experiment 3
Color vs. Contrast
COLOR
CONTRAST
Displays
COLOR
CONTRAST
Results
Color encoding of altitude yielded better conflict
detection than contrast coding.
COLOR
CONTRAST
Results
Performance varied with vantage point, for contrast cues
but not color cues.
From ABOVE
From BELOW
COLOR
CONTRAST
Experiment 4
SHAPE vs. SIZE
SHAPE
SIZE
Displays
SHAPE
SIZE
Results
Shape cues yielded better performance than size cues
SHAPE
SIZE
Experiment
Results 4
Performance did not vary with vantage point
From ABOVE
From BELOW
SHAPE
SIZE
Conclusions
• Some perceptual cues interacted with Imagined Perspective
• Enhanced ability to detect conflicts in these displays is due
to more than display features. Perceptual cues engaged
Depth Processes AND Conceptual Metaphors
• Some cues may be more natural than others.
• Explaining and predicting enhanced visualization must
consider the cognitive processes that display features
engage.
US Patent #7,408,552
European Patent #1474789
PAPERS
Clausner (2002). How conceptual metaphors are productive of spatialgraphical expressions. Proc. Cognitive Science Society. (pp. 208-213).
Clausner & Croft (1999). Domains and image schemas. Cognitive
Linguistics, 10, 1-31.
Palmer, Brown, Bates, Kellman, & Clausner (2009). Imagined viewpoints
modulate visual search in air traffic control displays. Human Factors and
Ergonomic Society.
Palmer, Clausner & Kellman (2008). Enhancing Air Traffic Control
Displays via Perceptual Cues. ACM: Trans. Applied Perception 5, 1-22.
Color cues for altitude may compete with other color
encodings