The When and How of Using 2-D and 3-D Displays for Operational Tasks

3-D perspective displays are an increasingly popular choice for the depiction of real-world operational settings. Instead of depicting an environment from directly above, as conventional 2-D displays do, 3-D displays show the scene from closer to 45 degrees to the ground plane. By doing so, all three dimensions of the object or scene are visible, and integrated into a single display. Advances in computing are making 3-D displays affordable and fast enough for real-time use for operational tasks. Their naturalistic look and easy feel has led them to be very popular with users in domains such as air traffic control, flight control, and immersive training. But there are warning signs that indicate that 3-D displays do not offer a panacea. First, user preference and user performance do not always correlate well. Second, due to inherent ambiguities in imaging geometry, 3-D displays give up faithful representation of two dimensions for ambiguity (and distortion) in all three. How much of a concern these issues are remains unclear. Critical questions need answering before we should start advocating the widespread adoption of 3-D displays for operational use. When should one choose a 2-D display over a 3-D display and vise versa? How might the cognitive and perceptual demands of a task influence which display type is more useful? Should one orient to a 3-D display but then operate only on a 2-D display? How critical are the exact parameters governing the geometry of 3-D perspective views? Do 3-D displays lead to more rapid situational awareness than 2-D displays? Just how good are 3-D displays for depicting objects (their identity, attributes, and inter-relationships)? If 3-D displays are populated with realistic symbols, is it the realism or the rendering of 3-D space that enhances performance, or both? Are 3-D displays better with egocentric views but worse for exocentric views? How effective is augmentation with other depth cues at reducing line of sight ambiguity in 3-D displays? Are there trade-offs and performance costs associated with these augmentations? This symposium brings together leading experts in the field to answer these telling questions.