Accession Number:

ADA027663

Title:

Dynamic Visual Acuity in Fatigued Pilots

Descriptive Note:

Final rept.

Corporate Author:

ARMY AEROMEDICAL RESEARCH LAB FORT RUCKER AL

Personal Author(s):

• Behar, Isaac
• Kimball, K. A.
• Anderson, D. A.

Report Date:

1976-06-01

Pagination or Media Count:

16.0

Abstract:

Six rotary wing aviators were subjects in a continuous operation regimen involving some 12 hours of flying and 3.5 hours sleep daily for five days. Estimates of performance on a dynamic visual acuity DVA task were obtained several times each day during the study using target velocities of 25 deg. and 40 deg.sec. DVA performance varied significantly during the fatigue regimen when measurements were made with target velocities of 40 deg.sec with lower velocity targets differences in DVA scores were not significant. This indicates the need to tax the oculomotor system to demonstrate fatigue effects. Fatigue effects were partially obscured by practice effects which are considerable in the DVA task. DVA scores correlated only modestly with subjective estimates of fatigue intensity and flying performance, and IP ratings of performance, but the cluster of correlations provided a consistent picture.

Descriptors:

• *SLEEP DEPRIVATION
• *OPTICAL TRACKING
• *VISUAL ACUITY
• PERFORMANCE(HUMAN)
• PILOTS
• FATIGUE(PHYSIOLOGY)
• EYE MOVEMENTS
• TARGET DETECTION
• CORRELATION TECHNIQUES
• HELICOPTERS
• VISUAL PERCEPTION

Subject Categories:

• Optical Detection and Detectors

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE