Vision Enhancement Systems : The Importance of Field of View

• Main Author: Grönqvist, Helena
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för datavetenskap 2002
• Subjects: Interdisciplinary studies; Night vision; VES; Field of View; ratio; simulator study; control model; TVÄRVETENSKAP; Social Sciences Interdisciplinary; Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-1370

The purpose of the project, which led to this thesis, was to investigate the possible effects different horizontal Fields of View (FoV) have on driving performance when driving at night with a Vision Enhancement System (VES). The FoV chosen to be examined were 12 degree and 24 degree FoV, both displayed on a screen with the horizontal size of 12 degree FoV. This meant that the different conditions of FoV also had different display ratios 1:1 and 1:2. No effort was made to separate these parameters. A simulator study was performed at the simulator at IKP, Linköping University. Sixteen participants in a within-group design participated in the study. The participants drove two road sections; one with a 12 degree FoV and the other with a 24 degree FoV. During each section four scenarios were presented in which the participants passed one of three types of objects; a moose, a deer or a man. In each section, two of the objects stood right next to the road and two were standing seventeen meters to the right of the road. As the drivers approached the objects standing seventeen meters to the right of the road, the objects moved out of the VES when the vehicle was 200 meters in front of the object with a 12 degree FoV. The objects could be seen with the naked eye when the vehicle was 100 meters in front of the object. When the drivers approached the objects with a 24degree FoV the objects moved out of the VES display when it was possible to see them unaided. Results show that a 24 degree FoV displayed with a 1:2 ratio gives the drivers improved anticipatory control, compared to a 12 degree FoV displayed with a 1:1 ratio. The participants with a broader FoV were able to make informed decisions whereas with a narrow FoV some participants started to reaccelerate when they could not see an object. Results also show that any difference in recognition distance that may exist between a 12 degree and a 24 degree camera angle displayed in a 12 degree FoV display do not seem to have any adverse effect on the quality of driving.