Use of Optical and Thermal Sights in Daylight Target Detection

• 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

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.