Effects of auditory radio interference on a fine, continuous, open motor skill

Area of Science:

• Human factors engineering
• Motor skill acquisition
• Military training simulations

Background:

• Fine, continuous, open motor skills are crucial in operational environments.
• Auditory interference can potentially disrupt performance in critical tasks.
• Understanding the impact of communication noise on performance is vital for training efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of auditory human speech interference on a fine, continuous, open motor skill.
• To evaluate the efficacy of interference training in abating performance degradation.
• To quantify changes in key performance metrics during simulated tank gunnery.

Main Methods:

• A 4-week training study using a tank gunnery simulator with injected auditory radio traffic.
• A Solomon four-group design was employed to assess training effects.
• Performance was measured using the Unit Conduct Of Fire Trainer (UCOFT), assessing identification time, fire time, kill time, systems errors, and acquisition errors.

Main Results:

• The interference group exhibited significantly higher systems errors (106%) and acquisition errors (75%) compared to the standard group during the initial three weeks.
• Interference training led to a significant 44% improvement in overall UCOFT scores from pre- to posttest.
• Standard training alone did not yield significant performance improvements over the same period.

Conclusions:

• Auditory radio interference demonstrably degrades performance in fine, continuous, open motor skills.
• Interference training appears to be an effective countermeasure, mitigating the negative effects of auditory degradation.
• Targeted training can enhance resilience and performance in noisy operational environments.