Driving is challenging for older adults, especially those with cognitive impairments. This paper systematically reviewed 39 peer-reviewed studies to examine the impact of cognitive deficits on older adults’ driving abilities, focusing on the discussion of neuropsychological assessments including Trail Making Tests, Useful Field of View, Maze Test, and Mini-Mental Status Exam. The study proposed the concept of Road Safety Cognitive Health, which encompasses the cognitive processes crucial for safe driving, aiming to inform future driver training, licensing regulations, roadway designs, and vehicle technology innovations. Concussively, this research advances understanding of road safety challenges for cognitively impaired older adults and advocates for an integrative approach to ensure their driving safety.

Understanding the impact of operator characteristics on human-automation interaction (HAI) is crucial as automation becomes pervasive. Despite extensive HAI research, the association between operator characteristics and their dependence on automation has not been thoroughly examined. This study, therefore, examines how individual characteristics affect operator dependence behaviors when interacting with automation. Through a controlled experiment involving 52 participants in a dual-task scenario, we find that operators’ decision-making style, risk propensity, and agreeableness are associated with their dependence behaviors when using automation. This research illuminates the role of personal characteristics in HAI, facilitating personalized team interactions, trust building, and enhanced performance in automated settings.

Home COVID-19 test kits are increasingly available in the United States, and efforts are underway to develop ones that are more accessible to people with disabilities. The primary objective of this research was to assess the usability and accessibility of existing home COVID-19 tests among people with disabilities. The aim is to better understand their needs and provide evidence for improved product design. A survey that included short-response questions about user experience with various home COVID-19 test kits was completed by 219 people with vision and mobility-related disabilities. A thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: Ease of Use, Privacy and Autonomy in Home COVID-19 Testing, and Recommendations for Improvement. The results of this study contribute to an increased understanding of how to design appropriate, accessible home COVID-19 test kits for people with disabilities.

Traditional Human System Integration (HSI) processes are at risk of being eliminated given the industry driven velocity and continuous delivery methods of Agile and Development to Operations Engineering. One such process at risk is usability standard checklists like MIL-STD 1472. The DoD Design Criteria Standard—Human Engineering, or MIL-STD 1472 is a military standard that provides guidelines for the ergonomic design of military systems and equipment. It is primarily focused on ensuring that military systems are designed to optimize human performance, safety, and comfort. However, it can be time-consuming to use given that it contains over 4,400 compliance items in its entirety. In an Agile DevOps environment, the typical delivery of products is 2 weeks with some software products boasting deployments every 11 min. Incorporation of usability and rigorous human factors checklists in the design of products using a DevOps environment is a challenge given the shorter timelines and smaller increments between product development and deployment combined with the expertise and hours needed to execute the checklists. The need for regression testing, the act of re-checking items to make sure new features have not created unforeseen usability issues, exacerbates the problem. Software quality testing for each release demands automatic methods to reduce the efforts of recursive testing. Industry standard methods in agile engineering utilize heuristics for quick turn low-cost usability inspections. This paper describes the derivation of a set of usability heuristics based on MIL-STD 1472 which can be used to identify potential human factors issues more quickly, with less cost, and reduced amount of expertise required. The paper also gives an example of a case study which incorporated automatic checking to support usability experts keeping pace with the high velocity pipelines of software development in an agile DevOps environment.

In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the integration of innovative technologies is becoming increasingly essential to enhance patient care, medication and overall healthcare outcomes. Quick Response (QR) codes have emerged as a versatile tool with significant potential to revolutionize such aspects of the healthcare industry. Through a review of 30 studies, we uncover the significant impact of integrating QR codes into healthcare systems. Across various domains, QR codes prove instrumental in enhancing patient care, streamlining workflows, and improving communication between healthcare professionals and patients. Notable findings include the role of QR in ensuring medication safety and advancing education as well as training within healthcare settings. Despite some challenges, user satisfaction remains high, underscoring QR codes’ effectiveness in optimizing healthcare delivery and outcomes from a human-centred perspective. This includes considering usability, cognitive load, and ergonomic design, all of which are crucial for maximizing the benefits of QR code technology in healthcare.

To reduce the weight of a seat of a city car (A-segment), a car seat was developed. First, a questionnaire was used to define the main functions the occupants prefer to have in the seat. The reclining and forward afterwards movement of the seat were seen as most important. Therefore, a reclining mechanism was built into the lightweight chair. This seat was tested by 39 participants and compared with a benchmark seat of the Toyota Aygo. It was clear that comfort testing is difficult comparing a full developed car seat with a prototype, which still needs development. Nevertheless, the comfort was comparable between the two seats and the shoulder space of the new seat was appreciated. The conclusion is that it is possible to develop a lighter weight car seat, which has the main features preferred by occupants, but further development is needed.

As human-agent teaming (HAT) research continues to proliferate, it becomes more difficult for both HAT researchers and agent developers to stay abreast of the literature. To this end, we developed an analysis of alternatives tool that enables The Contextual Labeling of Analytical Information into Relevant Valuable Options to Yield Alternatives for Novel Techniques (CLAIRVOYANT). Powered by a multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework, CLAIRVOYANT aids in hypothesis generation and experimental design by displaying summarized relationships observed in the HAT literature based on user needs. After iteratively designing literature-informed frameworks, generating an initial literature database, and instantiating the MCDA, a validation study was conducted demonstrating CLAIRVOYANT’s potential. Current limitations and future directions are discussed.

Practitioners of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) must frequently adapt to the constraints of organizations, multidisciplinary teams, changing customer requirements, and development lifecycles. Tradeoffs are made in applying techniques and levels of rigor; made to ensure that the highest caliber of HF/E is achieved that is also adoptable and impactful in practice. HF/E professionals, and particularly early career professionals, benefit from positive examples of HF/E practice in a variety of applied settings. In this panel, we will present perspectives and success stories that enable community dialogue about the art of the possible for HF/E in application. Success stories applying HF/E methods and practices at work is a thread deserving of continual discussion to add to the adaptive repertoire of our field and support the next generation of HF/E professionals.

As societies transition to hybrid mobility systems, interactions between automated vehicles (AVs) and human users in public spaces become more complex, highlighting the critical role of prosocial behaviors. These behaviors are essential for the seamless operation of interdependent transportation networks, helping to address integration challenges of AVs with human-operated vehicles and enhancing well-being by creating more efficient, less stressful, and inclusive environments. This study explores the impact of receiving prosocial behaviors on the cognition, riding performance, and well-being of micromobility users in simulated urban traffic scenarios. Using a mixed-method design, the research contrasts two types of social interactions—prosocial and asocial—across three temporal conditions: relaxed, neutral, and urgent. The Structural Equation Modeling underscored the intricate relationships between prosocial behaviors, satisfaction, cognition, riding performance, and well-being. Incorporating social factors into driving systems could enhance safety and improve urban mobility solutions.

This study investigates the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) of the Xbox Adaptive Controller and Logitech Gaming Kit, focusing on users with varying levels of disability and gaming experience. Fifteen participants were recruited from a university population and had varying levels of gaming and disability experienced. The study observed participants’ interactions with the packaging, instructions, and setup process for both the controller and the switch kit. The Xbox Adaptive Controller received positive feedback for its easy-to-open packaging, aesthetically pleasing design, and a relatively easy setup and use process. However, weaknesses included a lack of clear information on functionalities of additional switches, difficulties with cable management, and unclear instructions with a reliance on diagrams Incorporating individuals with diverse gaming backgrounds and experience with disability throughout the design process can help identify challenges and opportunities for a wider range of users.