Some experiences with three-dimensional display design: an air traffic control visualisation

This paper discusses some of the experiences of designing and using 3D displays encountered during a study which explored the suitability of such displays for air traffic control. Experiments were carried out to compare the performance of subjects using two 3D displays of air traffic and a 2D display. The results largely supported cognitive studies, for example regarding improvements in task performance resulting from greater depth perception due to stereopsis, and the difficulties caused by perceptual biases and ambiguities associated with 3D displays. However, evidence is found that air traffic control may not be an integrated task and so may not benefit from an integrated 3D display. These experiences show the need to consider the operator's task requirements in the choice and design of a display format, and that 3D displays have additional design parameters which can considerably complicate the design.