EFFICIENCY OF SEARCHPATTERNS

Search theory deals with the efficiency of covering search patterns; a classical example is systematic row search with sweep spacing depende nt upon window size. Human visual search is a function of contrast and size of the targets and of effective visual lobe size, this latter in fluenced by clutter and foveal load. Human searchpatterns often are op timal covers. Experimental results presented in this paper demonstrate that this is true for instrumental search with display windows contro lled by human subjects and quantified with a formula for efficiency. V isual searchpatterns using free eye movements often develop complex ir regular sequential searchpatterns.