ABSTRACT
Flying an aircraft is a highly demanding cognitive task where performance relies heavily on visual search and the interpretation of visual information. For example, in manual flying, pilots have to control and to continuously monitor multiple variables, which are usually cross-coupled. Therefore, healthy vision is considered a crucial sensory system for pilots (since World War I, the assessment of pilots’ vision and oculomotor functions is mandatory). Moreover, since the pioneering studies of Fitts and colleagues with military pilots, eye tracking technologies have represented one of the most reliable tools to improve aircraft instruments/panels design and to study pilots’ biobehavioral states. As flying not only requires conceptual knowledge, but the skills to visually search for relevant information, eye-tracking technologies can also enhance pilot training. In the present chapter, we describe the main oculomotor indices and the different technologies commonly used in aviation. After, we present a short overview on the application of eye tracking technologies in aviation, from the first studies during World War I to the proliferation of studies that occurred after the 1950s, with special reference to latest advances in the field. Finally, we briefly discuss current and future challenges and the directions in which eye movements research in aviation is likely to evolve.
