Search experiment example
bookPart
Visual search experiments can only provide useful results when the experimental conditions under which they are performed are strictly controlled. In field trials, one has little or no control over the environmental conditions. In contrast, laboratory experiments provide complete control over all relevant experimental parameters. Therefore, visual search studies are mostly performed in the laboratory using either photographs and videos or computer-simulated virtual environments. However, human performance in artificial laboratory conditions often differs considerably from performance in real-world scenarios. The discrepancies in behavior may be caused by a range of factors that differ between the simulated environment and the real world, such as limitations in resolution, luminance, color reproduction, etc. The relative importance of each of these factors is still largely unknown. More experimental data on search times and detection rates are needed to resolve these issues. Several factors are known to determine human visual search performance, such as the location of the target in the field of view (FOV), scene familiarity, and observer learning. In this article, we will discuss a typical visual search experiment that involves static images of natural scenes containing military vehicles as search targets.[1] We will address the various factors that influence observer performance, and we will describe how the experiment was designed such that these factors can be disentangled.
Topics
TNO Identifier
12374
Publisher
M. Dekker
Source title
Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering
Editor(s)
Driggers, R.G.
Place of publication
New York
Pages
2566 - 2576
Files
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