The effectiveness of many human-computer interfaces are limited by non-intuitive displays, either for historical reasons or due to the complexity of the information presented. These displays force the human to adapt to the computer, rather than having the computer system fit the user, thus complicating and slowing the interaction. A human-centered approach to visualization amplifies and extends human perceptual, cognitive, and performance capabilities, casting information into a form that exploits the unique properties of our perceptual system's information processing capabilities.
Our research involves the development of user interface displays that enhance performance in real time complex tasks that involve many data streams and complex data interaction rules using "first principles" of vision science, cognitive science, and human-centered computing. OZ is an aircraft cockpit display that significantly reduces pilot cognitive workload and enhances attitudinal/situational awareness and flight performance. OZ uses a common frame of reference to bring together all cockpit information to create a single, unified display, producing a picture that can be clearly and quickly understood. OZ display elements are constructed using visual perceptual primitives composed of dots, lines, and other simple geometric shapes that enable them to pass through the optical and neurological filters in the visual pathway. The common frame of reference provides the structure that transforms OZ’s separate perceptual objects into an ensemble of meaningfully interactive components. Within this frame of reference, OZ combines and reduces different data streams into proportionately-scaled symbology that the pilot can immediately apprehend and use. We are currently testing the performance of OZ versus conventional instruments in manned and unmanned aircraft.
