PERFORMANCE STUDIES ON THE NOTS-UCLA TRACKING SIMULATOR WITH TWO OPTICAL SYSTEMS AND A SWITCHING OPTION,

An experiment was performed on the NOTS-UCLA Tracking Simulator to test the feasibility of using a mechanical switching device to switch between two optical systems in an effort to combine the best effects of both. The beneficial effects of small probability of target loss and of easy reacquisition available with a large field of view and low power magnification 13 degrees, 1X would thus be coupled with the lower tracking error generally obtained with optical systems employing limited field of view and moderate magnification 5 degrees, 5X. As expected, the 5 degrees, 5X optical display yielded significantly lower tracking error than the 13 degrees, 1X display. The inclusion of a switching option did not further improve performance. Theoretical considerations indicate that a switching device may be more beneficial for more difficult tasks and when initial acquisition is included as a part of the task. Author