Display type effects in military operational tasks using Unmanned Vehicle (UV) video images: Comparison between color and B/W video feeds

Abstract

The increased use of unmanned vehicles (UVs) in military environments requires development of guidelines to enable maximal compatibility between those technologies and users’ needs. Specifically, the way video feeds are delivered to dismounted soldiers may affect the utility of such information. This work follows previous studies on the type (e.g., size) of displays required by dismounted soldiers to process video feed from UVs in a variety of operational situations. Sixteen former infantry soldiers with no experience using UV video feed participated. Three display types were examined using color or B/W video feeds in three different operational tasks (identification, orientation and movement detection). Performance and subjective data were collected. Results showed some effects for display type, no significant effect for feed color and an interaction for display type and feed color only in response time.