Elizabeth L. Irving

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Transport Canada Level 2 Instrument Proficiency Check Flight Training Device to elicit the disorientation caused by the black hole illusion. To evaluate the role of gender, we measured the relative susceptibility of men and women. Background: Spatial disorientation is a well-known causative factor in aviation mishaps. However, there is no simulation-based training protocol for visual illusions that cause spatial disorientation. Method: We simulated an approach-and-land scenario using an ALSIM simulator. Trainee pilots were instructed to maintain a 3° approach and land the aircraft under conditions with (nighttime) and without (daytime) the black hole illusion. We computed altitude errors by differencing the daytime and nighttime flight paths. Glideslope errors were calculated as deviations from the 3° approach. To assess the contribution of spatial abilities, participants completed a mental rotation test. Results: Most pilots showed a shallow final approach during night flight relative to day flights. The pilots who experienced the illusion had lower mental rotation scores than those who did not. Men had higher mental rotation scores, on average, than women, and showed less negative altitude and glideslope errors in the night relative to day conditions. These errors were not mitigated by flight experience. Conclusion: We reproduced the effects of the black hole illusion in a relatively low-cost aviation simulator. Gender and mental rotation skills were factors in black hole disorientation. Application: It is feasible to implement simulated visual illusion scenarios in aviation training. It is important to consider gender in designing and assessing flight scenarios.

This study explores the relationship between visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and pilot performance in simulated flight scenarios, including poor weather conditions, attempting to determine minimum visual requirements for safe flight. Twenty-six participants with normal or corrected-to-normal vision and varying flight experience (0-400 flight hours) completed simulated flight circuits under different weather conditions (e.g., rain, wind) using either Cambridge Simulation Glasses or defocusing lenses to degrade vision. Flight performance was assessed subjectively by an instructor using standardized criteria and objectively via simulator data. Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were measured at each level of visual degradation. Mixed model analysis of variance revealed significant differences in the variability of vertical speed, pitch, roll, and the slope of altitude descent as a function of vision degradation level and weather conditions. There was also a significant main effect of vision degradation type (scatter or defocus) on the slope of altitude descent. Post hoc analyses indicated flight performance was first affected at 1.0 and 1.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution degradation with scattering and defocusing lenses, respectively. These results suggest that current vision standards should potentially be reevaluated for them to be more based on evidence.

Purpose: To investigate the testability of the WatDAT for measuring recognition visual acuity (VA) in children aged between 18 to 48 months, report preliminary age‐related data and compare with two commercially available matching tests. Methods: A total of 57 children (18.5–45.8 months) attended for two sessions. Forty‐six children were placed in a typical group and 11 were classified as atypical if general or ocular health history or prematurity was reported. Binocular and monocular VA was attempted with WatDAT House/Circle (HC) and WatDAT Faces. Binocular VA was attempted with Kay Pictures and Patti Pics. The percentage able to complete each test (testability) and the corresponding VA are reported. Results: The percentage of typical children able to complete binocular testing with the WatDAT HC, WatDAT Faces, Patti Pics and Kay Pictures was 96%, 86%, 75% and 80%, respectively. More children were testable with the binocular WatDAT HC compared to the Patti Pics and with WatDAT HC compared to Kay Pictures ( p = 0.03). Monocularly, 56% and 54%, respectively, were testable with WatDAT HC and WatDAT Faces for both eyes. VA improved with age for all measures. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that there was no significant difference between binocular VA with WatDAT HC and WatDAT Faces ( p = 0.07), but there was a significant difference between the other tests. Both WatDAT tests gave poorer VA than the Patti Pics or Kay Pictures, while the Patti Pics gave poorer VA than Kay Pictures. Of the atypical children, 82% completed both the WatDAT HC and WatDAT Faces binocularly. Conclusions: WatDAT HC had good testability, comparable or better than testability for other tests for younger age groups as reported in the literature. Additionally, the results indicate higher testability with the WatDAT HC compared to Patti Pics matching and Kay Pictures. VA improved with age from 18 to 47 months.

Eye tracking has been used extensively as a proxy to gain insight into the cognitive, perceptual, and sensorimotor processes that underlie skill performance. Previous work has shown that traditional and advanced gaze metrics reliably demonstrate robust differences in pilot expertise, cognitive load, fatigue, and even situation awareness (SA). This study describes the methodology for using a wearable eye tracker and gaze mapping algorithm that captures naturalistic head and eye movements (i.e., gaze) in a high-fidelity flight motionless simulator. The method outlined in this paper describes the area of interest (AOI)-based gaze analyses, which provides more context related to where participants are looking, and dwell time duration, which indicates how efficiently they are processing the fixated information. The protocol illustrates the utility of a wearable eye tracker and computer vision algorithm to assess changes in gaze behavior in response to an unexpected in-flight emergency. Representative results demonstrated that gaze was significantly impacted when the emergency event was introduced. Specifically, attention allocation, gaze dispersion, and gaze sequence complexity significantly decreased and became highly concentrated on looking outside the front window and at the airspeed gauge during the emergency scenario (all p values < 0.05). The utility and limitations of employing a wearable eye tracker in a high-fidelity motionless flight simulation environment to understand the spatiotemporal characteristics of gaze behavior and its relation to information processing in the aviation domain are discussed.

Blink rate has been suggested to be a proxy for cognitive load. However, there are mixed results regarding this association, which is modulated by the visual demand of a task or when a dual-task paradigm is performed. This study investigated blink rate as a measure of cognitive load using a dual task paradigm (i.e., primary task = flying an aircraft; secondary task = auditory oddball task) to specifically assess changes in cognitive load across two flight phases (i.e., cruise, landing). Primary task performance suggested participants focused on maintaining aircraft control across task conditions, but a significant dual-task difference score in auditory oddball task performance (p<0.001) was still evident across flight phases. Blink rate did not show similar differences across flight phases. Our results demonstrate that the utility in using blink rate to measure cognitive load may be limited in its application to more complex naturalistic scenarios when using an auditory dual-task.

Concussion in para athletes with vision impairment (VI) is poorly understood. Recently published studies have suggested that athletes with VI may be more likely to sustain sport-related concussions compared to non-disabled athletes and athletes with other impairment types. There is a critical need for objective concussion incidence measures to determine concussion injury rates and risks more accurately. The aim of this review was to examine the limited available evidence of concussion incidence rates across six different para sports for athletes with VI and encourage the future collection of concussion incidence data and the adoption of injury prevention strategies in VI para sport. A literature search was conducted using four unique databases, which formed the basis of this narrative review. Injury prevention strategies such as modifying sport rules, introducing protective equipment, and incorporating additional safety measures into the field of play have been introduced sporadically, but the effectiveness of most strategies remains unknown. More prospective, sport-specific research examining mechanisms of injury and risk factors for concussion injuries in athletes with VI in both training and competition is needed. This research will help inform the development of targeted injury prevention strategies to reduce the likelihood of concussion for athletes with VI.