Perspective Chapter: The Visual Cognition and Attention Allocation Principles in Nuclear Power Monitoring Operations

Wu, Xiaoli · 2026 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.1013460

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Summary

This perspective chapter addresses the cognitive challenges nuclear power plant operators face during cross-screen monitoring tasks in intelligent control rooms. As display systems become more complex, operators must manage information distributed across multiple visual display units (VDUs), large display panels (LDPs), and paper documents. This environment creates risks of visual fatigue, attention distraction, and decision-making errors due to ambiguous information hierarchies and spatial perception barriers. The study aims to reveal the principles of visual attention capture in these hybrid display scenarios to optimize human-computer interface design and enhance operational safety. The research integrates a theoretical framework with empirical experimental data. Theoretically, it constructs a cross-screen interactive behavior model based on attention-capture mechanisms, distinguishing between bottom-up (stimulus-driven) and top-down (purpose-driven) attention pathways. Empirically, the authors conducted three experiments using behavioral tracking and eye-tracking technology (Tobii Glasses 2) with experienced nuclear interface designers. Experiment 1 examined the impact of alarm salience and screen transitions on reaction time and eye movements. Experiment 2 analyzed how information relevance and task load affect state evaluation tasks across different screen sizes. Experiment 3 investigated the effects of device group structure and target relevance on visual search performance. The findings demonstrate that cross-screen interaction efficiency is significantly influenced by both physical stimulus properties and task goals. In Experiment 1, increasing the number of screen transitions linearly increased reaction times and saccade counts, indicating cognitive distraction. However, high-level alarms (e.g., high-frequency flashing) significantly reduced response times and saccade frequency, confirming their effectiveness in capturing attention. Conversely, multiple simultaneous alarms diluted attentional focus, reducing fixation duration and hindering deep processing. Experiment 2 revealed that high information relevance shortened reaction times and reduced visual search efforts, particularly under high task loads, though excessive switching under low relevance conditions led to strategic reliance on external layout cues. Experiment 3 highlighted that structured grouping of device interfaces supports efficient information retrieval by reducing cognitive load. The study concludes that operator cross-screen interaction is a dynamic cognitive process involving memory, thinking, and visual search. It establishes that interface design must balance the salience of information presentation with consistency in screen layout and task relevance. The authors recommend optimizing information function allocation to prevent perceptual bias and attention disruption. By aligning interface designs with the operator’s attention-capture mechanisms—leveraging stimulus-driven alerts for emergencies and purpose-driven layouts for routine monitoring—the research provides actionable principles for enhancing the safety and reliability of nuclear power monitoring operations.

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

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• multisensory crossmodal