title: Benefits of color coding weapons symbology for an airborne helmet-mounted display
abstract: We assessed the advantages of a color-coded weapons symbology for a helmet-mounted display over monochrome symbology by measuring military pilots' performance while they flew air-to-air combat in a simulator. The pilots fired missiles significantly sooner without sacrificing probability of kill when using the color-coded symbology, demonstrating a substantial practical benefit of color. Actual or potential applications of this work include the design of color codes for helmet-mounted and other displays that use complex symbology to assist performance on cognitively challenging tasks.
authors.affiliation: Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433-7022, USA. post@wpafb.af.mil
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Post
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Geiselman
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Goodyear