Visual Search and Decluttering in Tactical Situation Displays: A Computational Modeling Approach

Clutter in tactical situation displays (TSD) is a persistent problem that affects pilots’ performance. Decluttering methods such as dimming, dotting, small-sizing and removal have been used in several display types to reduce clutter. This study aims to investigate the effects of different decluttering methods applied in TSD on pilots’ visual search performance. It also aims to uncover the basic psychophysical processes underlying the pilots’ visual search behavior through computational modeling. Data from fifteen Air-Force pilots showed that accuracy is higher and response time is faster when the TSD is decluttered, regardless of the technique. However, when the data was fitted into the hierarchical drift-diffusion model, it was revealed that among the techniques tested, dimming yielded the best search performance based on the model parameters. This study suggests that analyzing behavioral data through computational modeling may lead to better insights that are more practical and applicable in solving the issues in visual search in TSDs.