Effects of Temporal Characteristics on Pilots Perceiving Audiovisual Warning Signals Under Different Perceptual Loads

Our research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of auditory, visual, and audiovisual warning signals for capturing the attention of the pilot, and how stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) in audiovisual stimuli affect pilots perceiving the bimodal warning signals under different perceptual load conditions. In experiment 1 of the low perceptual load condition, participants discriminated the location (right vs. left) of visual targets preceded by five different types of warning signals. In experiment 2 of high perceptual load, participants completed the location task identical to a low load condition and a digit detection task in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream. The main effect of warning signals in two experiments showed that visual and auditory cues presented simultaneously (AV) could effectively and efficiently arouse the attention of the pilots in high and low load conditions. Specifically, auditory (A), AV, and visual preceding auditory stimulus by 100 ms (VA100) increased the spatial orientation to a valid position in low load conditions. With the increase in visual perceptual load, auditory preceding the visual stimulus by 100 ms (AV100) and A warning signals had stronger spatial orientation. The results are expected to theoretically support the optimization design of the cockpit display interface, contributing to immediate flight crew awareness.