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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Enabling High Grayscale Resolution Displays and Accurate Response Time Measurements on Conventional Computers
Published on: February 29, 2012
[Effects of digital information display time on human and machines monitoring performance]
Zhan-sheng Qu1, Qian-xiang Zhou, Chun-hui Wang
1Institute of Space Medico-Engineering, Beijing, China. quzhansheng2000@163.com
Objective:
To provide an index for function allocation of information monitoring between human and machine by studying the effect of digital information display time on human or machine monitoring performance.
Method:
Two computers were used. One computer, ten numbers with two decided digits were displayed randomly for three times. The display time varied from 200 ms to 5000 ms with different intervals. The other's monitor was simulated by a camera recorder and image identifying arithmetics was designed. Subjects watched the CRT and press the computer keys related with the figure on the CRT. In every experiment, the correct rate of human press or machine identification was recorded.
Result:
The subjects' correct rate varied sharply when display time was 1500 ms. When display time was shorter then 1500 ms, subjects' correct rate decreased accordingly and may approach 0. From 1500 ms to 4500 ms, the subjects' correct rate was close to 100.0%. But when the display time was 5000 ms, the subjects' correct rate decreased slightly to 97.67%. From 50 ms to 5000 ms, the machine's correct rate varied little at different display times.
Conclusion:
The digital display time has very great effect on human monitoring performance. But it has little effect on machine performance.

