situational awareness

Noun

situational awareness (uncountable)

1. The perception and comprehension of one’s environment as a whole, including peripheral or less obvious cues, maintained as an ongoing process of monitoring, interpreting, and anticipating developments, especially in contexts requiring safety or rapid decision-making.
   • Colonel Ron Van Der Weert, the PA project director at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, calls the electronic helper "a special executive secretary", and believes that the intelligent machine will substantially reduce combat fatalities, 80 per cent of which result from a pilot's lack of "situational...1989 November 15, The Canberra Times, page 23, column 1
2. The ability to perceive and comprehend one’s surroundings and to anticipate potential changes, regarded as a skill that can be developed, particularly in occupations involving danger or high responsibility.
   • Infa-red, thermal-imaging sighting systems; thermal binoculars; strategic satellite communication links; tactical communication networks and an organic electronic situational awareness package.2002 August 1, Army Magazine, Canberra, page 5, column 1