Compressed File Length Predicts Search Time and Errors on Visual Displays

Search times and errors were recorded for targets (a triangle or trapezoid) in marine radar, chart, and radar-chart overlay bitmap computer displays. Lossless JPEG and ZIP compressed file lengths were obtained for each display. The two types of file length were correlated and they predicted both the maximum time to search each display and the number of errors made per search. Compressed file length is analogous to algorithmic complexity, a theoretical measure of bit string complexity. It predicts both subjective complexity judgments (previous research) and search performance (this study) for a set of static marine electronic displays. The data suggest that compressed file length will predict minimum anticipated performance in a range of applied visual search tasks