THE EFFECTS OF MULTIMODAL DISPLAY AIDS ON HUMAN-PERFORMANCE

This paper addresses the effects which multimodal display aids, such a s auditory cues, have on human performance when used in conjunction wi th visual displays. The purpose of the experiments conducted is to det ermine if auditory display aids have a positive or negative effect on a simple monitoring task. Eight subjects were tested on both a strictl y visual display and a visual display incorporating an auditory cue. E ach task involved monitoring four different types of display indicator s for certain critical conditions for twenty minutes. The indicators i ncluded a blinking light, a red light, two linear gauges, and two circ ular dials presented on a computer screen. The auditory cue was presen ted as a modulated beep with a frequency of 450 Hz, a duration of 2000 ms, a period of 1000 ms and a 50% duty cycle. Subjects had to respond by clicking on the appropriate button when indicators being monitored reached a critical condition. The results of the experiments indicate that auditory cues do positively enhance the detection of critical co nditions for certain types of visual indicators. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd.