Effects of navigation aids on human error in a complex navigation task

Abstract

This thesis investigates land navigators' performance differences in land navigation when different navigation aids are used. The question that this thesis attempts to answer is whether the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) in land navigation results in a performance dependency, and, if so, whether that dependency adversely affects performance. To address these questions an experiment was conducted to see if the use of GPS makes map and compass training obsolete. The participants were divided into two training groups; map + compass navigation and GPS navigation. The experiment studied human performance differences, human error, and transfer of training while participants navigated using only GPS in the first part, and map + compass in the second part of the experiment. The results suggested that map +compass training is always preferable. A map +compass native land navigator outperforms a GPS native land navigator when GPS is not accessible. This evidence suggests that a military land navigator, in particular, should know both navigation techniques and should be able to switch from one to the other without any hesitation.