The concept of visual search embraces a wide range of processing activities, from human cognitive phenomana to applied problems for both human and machine vision in industrial, medical and military environments. This book, the second to be derived from the series of internationl conferences on visual search organized under the auspices of the Applied Vision Association, brings together research from a variety of disciplines, enabling the reader to share experiences at the cutting edge, accessing knowledge which might otherwise be locked away in specialist journals or grey literature.

The Seventh International Conference series on Vision in Vehicles was held in Marseilles in September 1997. This event was run in conjunction with the Applied Vision Association, the Ergonomics Society and with the participation of INRETS (Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Securite).
This volume presents the selected and edited proceedings. The papers at the conference were ordered into sessions, from driver-specific aspects to interfacing with the new in-vehicle systems. These sessions are mirrored in the ordering of the chapters. The conference is long established and regularly draws representatives from the key international research centres working in this popular and diverse transportation area.

This book is based on the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Vision in Vehicles. The aim of the conference series is to enable international researchers from different disciplines to meet and exchange ideas on the current state-of-the-art of all aspects related to vehicles and vehicle controllers. This is perceived as encompassing the internal and external design of a vehicle, the environment in which vehicles move, as well as the visual, perceptual and cognitive limitations of the vehicle controller. All types of vehicles (including underground mining vehicles, helicopters, trains and motorcycles) are considered, though the majority of papers deal with automobiles and their drivers.

The conference keynote address Automated Highways: A Vision of the Future, which was presented by John Bloomfield, set the tone for the meeting. The proceedings, as contained in this volume, begin in a similar vein with chapters considering Simulation Studies of Driver Performance, followed by a section on Visual Processing and Collision Avoidance. Cognitive issues are addressed in several chapters detailing recent work on Cognitive Aspects of Visual Information Processing.

The growing use of information technology is covered in two subsequent sections concerning firstly, the Visual Requirements of In-Vehicle Guidance Systems and secondly, Driver Support Systems. Environmental factors are discussed in a separate section, as is driver's own visual impairment. The final section concerns Arousal and Performance and discusses alcohol effects on driving ability.

Vision in Vehicles V, with contributions by experts from a diverse range of disciplines, including optometrists, psychologists, physiologists, human factors specialists and engineers, will undoubtedly stimulate the progression of research in this area.

This volume contains contributions illuminating much of the current research occurring in the area of visual perception. It encompasses all aspects of vision and its relationship to vehicle design, including both the internal and external design of the vehicle as well as the perceptual and cognitive limitations of the vehicle controller.

Issues specifically related to the vision of the driver are initially addressed and the problems of vehicle glazing and light transmission are considered. The major topics of visual perception and vehicle control are covered in three related chapters encompassing: collision avoidance, vehicle signalling systems and the acquisition of visual information. Moving on to the external environment and its relationship to vision, traffic signs are discussed. Approaches to the measurement and modelling of driver behaviour are dealt with and the area of telerobotic control of vehicles is considered. In-vehicle displays are covered in two related chapters addressing issues of visual workload and effects of display type.

It is hoped that the book, contributed to by experts from a diverse range of disciplines, including optometrists, psychologists, physiologists, human factors specialists and engineers, will stimulate the progression of research in this area, as effectively as the preceding volumes did.

This book is a new interdisciplinary work which presents the proceedings of the third international conference on Vision in Vehicles, the aim of which was to provide an international forum for the exchange of information on current work on all aspects of vision and its relationship to vehicle design. This includes both the internal and external design of the vehicle and its environmental displays, as well as the perceptual and cognitive capabilities of the vehicle controllers.

An integrated approach to the problems of vision and vehicle control is presented in this volume.
Current work on all aspects of vision and its relationship to vehicle design is reported on, including the internal and external design of vehicles, visual displays, and the perceptual and cognitive capabilities of the controller of the vehicle. Environmental influences, the effects of alcohol, and visual standards are among the topics discussed. All types of vehicles (including ships and combat aircraft) are considered, though the majority of papers deal with automobiles and their drivers.