The effects of multimodal display aids on human performance

This paper addresses the effects which multimodal display aids, such as auditory cues, have on human performance when used in conjunction with visual displays. The purpose of the experiments conducted is to determine if auditory display aids have a positive or negative effect on a simple monitoring task. Eight subjects were tested on both a strictly visual display and a visual display incorporating an auditory cue. Each task involved monitoring four different types of display indicators for certain critical conditions for twenty minutes. The indicators included a blinking light, a red light, two linear gauges, and two circular dials presented on a computer screen. The auditory cue was presented as a modulated beep with a frequency of 450 Hz, a duration of 2000 ms, a period of 1000 ms and a 50% duty cycle. Subjects had to respond by clicking on the appropriate button when indicators being monitored reached a critical condition. The results of the experiments indicate that auditory cues do positively enhance the detection of critical conditions for certain types of visual indicators.