Costs and Benefits of Head-Up Display Use: A Meta-Analytic Approach

Abstract

Costs and benefits associated with head-up display (HUD) use were assessed by analyzing data obtained from studies in the aviation domain. Eighteen studies investigating the use of HUDs, head-down displays, and conformal displays were included in analyses of flight path tracking and event detection performance. HUD and conformality benefits consisted of faster detection responses to changes in symbology and presentation of traffic, as well as increased flight path tracking accuracy. Further investigation into the HUD data revealed a heterogeneous component, suggesting that factors other than display location were contributing to pilot performance. One factor modulating performance was the relative expectancy of the event. HUD use was advantageous if an event in the environment was expected. However, when an event was unexpected, detection was degraded with the presence of HUD instrumentation. This finding reveals a potential cost due to HUD use when confronted with anomalous situations.