Use of Optical and Thermal Sights in Daylight Target Detection

The Fort Knox Field Unit of ARI investigated the use of optical and thermal sights for daylight target detection. Armor soldiers were asked to detect targets in optical sight displays, thermal sight displays, and display in which optical and thermal scenes alternated. Alternating between thermal and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kottas, Brain L, Bessemer, David W
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ARMY TRAINING
AS795
Humanities and History
INFRARED DETECTION
Infrared Detection and Detectors
INFRARED DETECTORS
OPTICAL DETECTION
Optical Detection and Detectors
OPTICAL SIGHTS
PE63744A
SURFACE TARGETS
TANK CREWS
TARGET DETECTION
THERMAL SIGHTS
UTILIZATION
VEGETATION
WU110
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Summary:The Fort Knox Field Unit of ARI investigated the use of optical and thermal sights for daylight target detection. Armor soldiers were asked to detect targets in optical sight displays, thermal sight displays, and display in which optical and thermal scenes alternated. Alternating between thermal and optical sights produced more target detections than using either sight alone over all terrain conditions, but did so at the expense of time. In dense vegetation, alternating between optical and thermal sights produced the highest target detection performance. In contrast, when searching for targets in mixed terrain, optical sights alone produced the best target detection performance with respect to both speed and accuracy. Performance with the thermal sight improved over trials, demonstrating the need for target detection training with the thermal sight and the increase in performance that can occur when systematic feedback is provided to those undergoing training.