Fidelity and Interactivity in Navigational Training: A Comparison of Three Methods

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 1994-10, Vol.38 (18), p.1163-1167
• Main Authors: Williams, Henry P., Wickens, Christopher D., Hutchinson, Scott
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 1071-1813; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/154193129403801804

In two experiments we vary the degree of fidelity of a navigational training environment, and determine how this variance effects the degree of route knowledge and survey knowledge demonstrated in a navigational transfer task. Subjects learn about the geography of a computer-generated world by either (a) studying a 2D map of the world, (b) passively viewing a 3D course through the world on an IRIS display, or (c) actively flying through an IRIS-based simulation of the world. Groups (b) and (c) were yoked. All groups then transferred to a flight along the studied route plan in a high fidelity Evans and Sutherland visual simulation system. In Experiment 1, 60 pilots were assigned to the three training conditions, and the subjects in the two IRIS flight groups were subdivided into categories of low and high visual fidelity of the IRIS world. In this experiment, the active flight training condition yielded most accurate navigation performance (route knowledge), with the map-study group being nearly as proficient, and the passive group much lower. The map-study group had the highest recall of the geography (survey knowledge), but this knowledge did not provide them with any benefit in solving an unexpected navigational problem (functional survey knowledge). Visual fidelity had no effect on any measure of transfer performance. In Experiment 2, the speed and workload of the rehearsal flight was increased, and 10 pilots were assigned to each training group. The results revealed that the increased workload reversed the order of the two computer flight groups, with subjects in the active group who needed to rotate the map, now performing most poorly. The results of both experiments are discussed in terms of the detrimental effects of high workload to geographical learning, and to the dissociation between different kinds of geographical knowledge.