Frame of Reference in UAV Search and Rescue: Exocentric vs. Egocentric View for Navigation, Target Detection, and Collision Awareness — July 8, 2026 | Community Exchange
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  Speaker: Yining Zhang Masters Candidate Thesis Defense Department: Psychology Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) have enabled search-and-rescue (SAR) missions to be safer, more efficient, and more effective due to their advanced mobility and sensing technologies. Traditionally, UASs employ a first-person, egocentric frame of reference (FOR), enabled by the camera system installed on the vehicle. However, this FOR provides limited visibility of the vehicle's surrounding environment, leading to blind spots. In contrast, research has shown that an exocentric, behind-the-vehicle FOR can lead to better mission outcomes and safer teleoperation. The current study compared operator performance and eye-movement patterns using the egocentric and exocentric FORs in a simulated SAR mission. A total of 37 participants performed three tasks using the two FORs, including collision-awareness, route-deviation detection, and target-detection tasks. The results showed that the effectiveness of the FORs was dependent on the task specifications. For the collision-awareness and target-detection tasks, there was no significant difference in response time (RT) or hit rate (H). For the route-deviation detection task, participants exhibited a speed-accuracy trade-off: they had a faster RT but lower H in the exocentric condition compared to the egocentric condition. Additionally, we found that participants in the exocentric condition attributed more visual attention to the camera view than in the egocentric condition, potentially due to the high salience of the vehicle body against the surrounding environment. Overall, the current study suggested that future UASs should employ a dynamic visual display, allowing the operator to choose the FOR that is more appropriate for the mission.
