Influence of indirect vision and virtual reality training under varying manned/unmanned interfaces in a complex search-and-shoot simulation

Abstract

In the real-world, manned and unmanned vehicles may be used for a number of applications. Visual technologies like indirect visual display (IVD) and virtual reality (VR) have been used to train operators in both manned and unmanned environments. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of manned and unmanned interfaces in IVD and VR display designs. Using an underwater search-and-shoot scenario, we developed two variations in display designs (IVD and VR) and two variations in type of interface-based training (manned and unmanned). A total of 60 subjects participated in the experiment, where 30 subjects were randomly assigned to simulations in IVD and the rest in VR. In both the simulations, 15 randomly selected participants executed the manned interface first and the remaining 15 executed the unmanned interface first. Results revealed that the subjects performed better in VR compared to IVD, and also performed better when they executed the unmanned interface first. We highlight the implications of our results for training personnel in scenarios involving manned and unmanned operations in IVD and VR interfaces.