Developing Guided Search 3.0. The Next Generation of a Model of Visual Search.

Abstract : There are numerous situations, from picking fruit to flying a plane, that require an observer to find a target item in a field filled with distracting items. Guided Search (GS) is our model of this visual search process. This project aims to develop the next generation of that model. In the past year, progress has been made in three areas: (1) The GS computer simulation has been improved, notably by equipping it with the ability to learn how to select useful information from the available input channels. (2) Our study of individual differences between subjects indicates that the differences between subjects indicates that the differences revealed by standard search paradigms are probably mere noise. However, we can modify the usual paradigm by using larger display set sizes. This produces reliable individual differences that can be used to evaluate theories of search. (3) There are many tasks that require search through visually complex technical information. Using electrical diagrams as an example, we have developed techniques to speed search by graphical recoding of diagram information. We do this while preserving the standard structure of the diagrams. Our goal is 'hybrid search' in which human and computer both contribute to the success of the search.