Vision science informing visual display symbology

Aims/Purpose: Improvements in technology for head mounted displays allow both a large increase in the quantity of visual information presented and capacity to control how it is displayed. The requirements of defence operators are unique, including making quick and efficient decisions, operating in varying light conditions and using night vision devices and laser eye protection. Scientifically‐informed symbology is required to ensure maximal operational capacity is obtained from available technology.Methods: Applied tasks have been used to investigate the addition of colour to visual symbology. The first used a flight simulator to examine the effect of adding colour to symbology requiring attention; both day and night backgrounds were investigated with the plane on autopilot. Participants were required to identify randomly appearing symbols presented either as monochrome green or with additional colour, in addition to other tasks. The second task manipulated symbology colour to improve performance when using laser eye protection. Participants undertook two simulated drives wearing laser eye protection while responding to both standard and optimised coloured symbols.Results: For the flight simulator experiment, the use of colour to draw attention to symbology resulted in faster response times (1.81s vs 2.57s, p < 0.001) and fewer missed events (0.91 vs 3.32/15 missed, p < 0.001). For the driving experiment, manipulating the colours did not statistically significantly affect reaction time but resulted in a statistically significant improvement in the accuracy of symbol detection and identification (standard 88.7%, optimised 94.5%, p < 0.001).Conclusion: The judicious use of colour informed by vision science in displays has demonstrated improvements in reaction time and accuracy which may be operationally significant for defence operators. Further work is required to refine other salient aspects of symbology which may attract attention including size, luminance and flicker.