ABSTRACT

Objective: To reduce the gap between old and new eye-tracking studies in aviation by raising the interest of the scientific community in some of the pioneering works. We present two emblematic cases: the misattributed origin of the use of eye-tracking techniques in aviation to Paul M. Fitts and his collaborators, and the forgotten (and often reinvented) oculometer training tape technique.

Background: Over the last century, military and civilian researchers have used eye-tracking techniques to solve many challenges faced by the aviation industry, from assessing new graphical displays to testing procedural trainings. Yet, these techniques have been always classified as merely promising. The difficulty of using eye trackers outside of a laboratory environment, and the labor-intensive data extraction and interpretation procedures have long been considered a barrier to implementing eye-tracking techniques in aviation settings.

Method: We revised original scientific articles as well as military and civilian technical reports on the use of eye-tracking techniques in aviation settings from the beginning of Aviation Psychology.

Results: A systematic failure in recognizing and learning from the pioneering works might be a concomitant explanation for classifying the use of eye-tracking techniques as merely promising.

Conclusion: Taking together past and present findings, it would not be over-optimistic to state that eye-tracking finally went from being a “promising” technique in aviation to a “proven” one.

摘要

目的：通过提高科学界对某些开创性工作的兴趣，缩小航空领域新旧眼动追踪研究之间的差距。我们提出了两个标志性案例：Paul M. Fitts和他的合作者在航空中使用眼动追踪技术的错误归因，以及被遗忘（且经常被重新发明）的眼动仪训练带技术。

背景：在上个世纪，军事和民用研究人员已经使用眼动追踪技术来解决航空业面临的许多挑战，从评估新的图形显示到测试程序培训。然而，这些技术一直被归类为仅仅是有希望的。长期以来，人们一直认为在实验室环境之外使用眼动仪的难度以及劳动强度大的数据提取和解释程序是在航空环境中实施眼动仪技术的障碍。

方法：从航空心理学开始，我们就在航空环境中使用眼动追踪技术修订了原始科学文章以及军事和民用技术报告。

结果：系统无法识别和学习开创性工作可能是伴随使用眼动追踪技术分类的解释，因为眼动追踪技术的使用仅仅是有前途的。

结论：总结过去和现在的发现，指出眼动追踪最终从一种在航空中的“有前途”技术发展为一种“经过验证的”技术并不会过分乐观。