Cybernetics of tunnel-in-the-sky displays. I. Straight trajectories

The tunnel-in-the-sky display is a possible candidate to become the primary flight display of future aircraft cockpits. To understand pilot manual control behaviour with a perspective tunnel display, and to incorporate this understanding in display design, it is essential to investigate the manner in which pilots use the spatial information conveyed by the display. A theoretical information-centered analysis has been conducted to study the effectiveness of the optical cues mediated by the display in straight tunnel sections. This analysis revealed that in straight tunnel sections the gradients of perspective and compression, in conjunction with novel concepts as the infinity point and the pseudo-horizons, are extremely useful in understanding pilot behaviour. An experiment provided substantial evidence for the pre-experimental analysis following the information-centered approach.