HRL Laboratories, LLC and

We examined graphical representations of aircraft altitude in simulated air traffic control (ATC) displays. In two experiments, size and contrast cues correlated with altitude improved participants ’ ability to detect future aircraft collisions (conflicts). Experiment 1 demonstrated that, across several set sizes, contrast and size cues to altitude improved accuracy at identifying conflicts. Experiment 2 demonstrated that graphical cues for representing altitude both improved accuracy and reduced search time for finding conflicts in large set size displays. The addition of size and contrast cues to ATC displays may offer specific benefits in aircraft conflict detection