Development and validation of spatial disorientation scenarios using virtual reality and motion simulator

Spatial Disorientation (SD) can cause critical aviation accidents by adversely affecting the pilot's ability to perform a flight mission. One of the strategies to improve pilots' ability to deal with SD is to perform SD training using Virtual Reality and Motion Simulator (VRMS) system. However, there is still a lack of studies that investigated the application of VRMS for SD training. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop and validate VRMS-based SD scenarios. Twenty-two male Air Force fighter pilots (11 in the low experienced group and 11 in the high experienced group) participated in a controlled experiment in which they performed the flight task under two conditions (SD flight, non-SD flight), wherein the SD flight condition included the induction of four distinct SD illusions. Findings showed that the developed SD scenarios in the VRMS system effectively induce SD. More specifically, there were differences in the influence of flight experience and SD condition on pilots' flight performance and workload. This study suggests that the VRMS system can demonstrate several types of SD scenarios effectively and has a huge potential to be utilized as an SD training tool to improve overall flight safety.