Establishing Vision Standards for the Canadian Air Force
This three-year collaborative project with Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC) and York University evaluated the operational relevance of binocular vision in Canadian Air Force (CAF) aviation. The aim was to identify flight tasks where stereoscopic depth perception is critical and determine whether stereopsis should be included in vision screening requirements for CAF aircrew.
Project Overview
Client: Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC) & York University
My Role: UX/HCI Researcher (Behavioural, Quantitative & Qualitative)
Timeline: September 2015 to September 2018
​Skills & Tools: Experimental design, structured interviews, flight task simulation, psychophysics, stereoscopic imagery, statistical modelling (R, MATLAB), cross-functional collaboration under military research protocols
Summary: A multi-year applied research project evaluating the role of binocular vision in critical flight tasks such as altitude estimation and terrain assessment. Findings directly shaped Canadian Air Force pilot vision screening standards and informed evidence-based updates to aviation safety protocols.
Problem
Although binocular vision and stereopsis have long been studied in aviation, their direct operational relevance for flight tasks remains contested. Training and screening standards vary across countries, and the Canadian Air Force required evidence to determine whether stereopsis is essential for aircrew performance.
Methods
-
Pilot interviews: Conducted informal interviews with CAF pilots and flight engineers to identify candidate flight tasks that may depend on stereopsis.
-
Study design: Collaborated with defence scientists and academic researchers to design three controlled experiments under strict military research protocols.
-
Flight tasks tested:
-
Altitude estimation during simulated helicopter flight.
-
Low hover altitude estimation using high-resolution stereoscopic imagery.
-
Ground terrain judgments during landing tasks using naturalistic imagery.
-
Participants: Both experienced aircrew and inexperienced undergraduate participants were tested to evaluate the influence of aviation training on stereoscopic versus monocular depth cue use.
Figure 1: Illustration of ground terrain scenario
Key Findings
-
Critical tasks: Binocular vision was essential for accurate altitude judgments during low hover and for assessing ground terrain during landing.
-
Training effect: Aircrew performed more accurately than undergraduates under monocular viewing, highlighting how training improves interpretation of monocular cues.
-
Distance limits: Stereopsis contributed to terrain judgments at distances up to 9 meters.
-
Individual differences: A convexity bias observed in many participants suggests individual differences in reliance on surface curvature assumptions.
Impact
-
Directly informed updated binocular vision requirements in the CAF pilot screening process.
-
Provided evidence-based recommendations for training design and safety protocols in military aviation.
-
Strengthened DRDC’s ability to link perceptual science to operational performance outcomes.
-
Publications:
What I learned
-
Gained hands-on experience conducting applied research with strict military ethics and regulatory protocols.
-
Learned to design and execute studies under the unique constraints of military operations and training environments.
-
Built strong collaborative skills by working closely with multidisciplinary teams of scientists, pilots, and military personnel.
-
Experienced first-hand how competitive and performance-driven aircrew approach even basic perceptual research tasks.