The primary goal of any aircraft interior lighting system is to provide the aviator with adequate visual performance. Present cockpit designs are currently undergoing rapid change. Various sophisticated technological systems are simultaneously attaining a state of maturation. Such advances as night vision goggles and the glass cockpit will require significant future innovation in cockpit lighting strategies.
There are two different dimensions to aircraft interior lighting. These comprise the micro and the macro aspects. Micro level concerns involve, for example, the following: individual lighting requirements, lighting design options, user technique, and lighting system evaluation. In contrast, the macro aspect relates to system design considerations. These may include aircraft system and operator performance requirements, as well as lighting component integration. Of these concerns, the most important is the operator performance requirement. In general aviation, roughly half of all fatal accidents occur at night ("Facts," 1991, p. 6). Clearly, cockpit lighting systems must be "usable to the pilot, must provide readability of all lighting conditions, and must be compatible with other displays, operations, or environments (Schmickley, 1992, p. 1)."
At the present time, aircraft display and lighting technologies are rapidly evolving. First generation cockpits employed simple, round dials. In contrast, the current second generation cockpits have interfaced the pilot with the aircraft's sensors and weapons through the use of Multifunction and Head-Up Displays (HUD). The third generation cockpit has yet to be fully implemented. The 1990s will probably see a "juncture" of developing technologies. These may include speech, graphics, and decision aiding capabilities. Flat panels with immense computational capability are also on the horizon. The primary focus of these systems must be "situation awareness:" i....