Efficacy of Directional Cues from a Tactile System for Target Orientation in Helicopter Extractions over Moving Targets

Abstract : Military and civilian helicopters have been extracting downed and injured personnel for decades. Stabilizing the aircraft in a hover position in areas of limited contrast is a difficult task made more complex when over water due to the motion of the waves and the drift of the rescue target. This study assessed the efficacy of a tactile system providing directional cues in a simulated extraction task under varied conditions (e.g., degraded visual environment, fatigue). The results support the use of cues delivered by a tactile system. Results also indicated that participants were in fact fatigued (evidenced by mood and vigilance data) but performance was unaffected by this condition. The data patterns indicate that participants developed a strategy for using the cues (in some cases with minimal training), which influenced how well they performed.