MFDTool : A Software Tool for Optimizing Hierarchical Information on Multifunction Displays

This report provides the description of an enhanced version (1.3) software program called MFDTool. MFDTool allows human computer interaction experts to optimize the design of multifunction display (MFD) screens. However, the original version of MFDTool was limited to only one type of interaction, and was thereby restricted to only a small subset of possible MFDs. MFDTool, Version 1.3, provides for multiple types of interactions, greatly enhancing its ability to define appropriate MFD designs. In addition to providing immediate benefit to MFD designers, MFDTool allows for the systematic investigation of which types of interactions are important in human-computer interactions with MFDs. Previously, such studies were limited because there was no means of insuring that an MFD design was appropriately built to accommodate a particular type of interaction. With MFDTool, such designs can be generated easily, and this will allow experimentation on those designs to reveal important aspects of the human- computer interaction.Army Aeromedical Research Lab Fort Rucker Al is the author of 'MFDTool : A Software Tool for Optimizing Hierarchical Information on Multifunction Displays', published 2002 under ISBN 9781423548867 and ISBN 1423548868.