Human Interface Design Research Articles

Human interface design for semi-autonomous control of leader-follower excavator based on variable admittance and stagnation/trajectory bifurcation of nonlinear dynamics

Conventional remote operation of an excavator has low work efficiency comparing with on-site operations. This is because it is difficult for an operator to recognize the excavator status and surrounding environments. Moreover, there are restrictions such as a limitation on the amount of information that can be transmitted, delays in communication, and harsh environments that cause sensor failure. Therefore, we have developed a semi-autonomous control system that consists of autonomy and human manipulation. This paper proposes (1) a bilateral control system based on variable admittance and (2) an autonomous control using nonlinear dynamics that has attractors with stagnation and trajectory-bifurcation. (1) In the proposed method, the admittance parameters are changed based on the difference between the leader and follower position. We implement the proposed method into a prototype of excavator and verify the operation with two types of external environmental forces: free movement and contact with a rock. (2) The attractor’s stagnation is designed as a sink of vector field converging to an arbitrary point on the trajectory. A stagnation is placed at a trajectory’s bifurcation point, and the operator selects the next operation by adding a force to the leader system, which is measured through a force sensor. We design two types of bifurcating attractors and conduct an experimental verification of the proposed semi-autonomous control system.

Widget-based Alarm Recognition and a Management Support Interface System in Nuclear Power Plants

As small modular reactors (SMRs) and various computerized operating support systems have been developed, visual display unit(VDU)-based multifunctional consoles have been proposed. The more a console depends on VDUs, the more human system interface (HSI) designers need to consider the decrease in the human performance caused by the effect of navigation tasks. This paper proposes a widget-based alarm recognition and management support interface system to increase the operator’s ability to recognize alarms and to manage alarm-related tasks by reducing additional and excessive navigation tasks. With a small display screen, the system provides operators with quick and accurate access to alarm-related information and allows them to make corrective responses.

Effects of line length, orientation angle, and drawing direction on the straight‐line drawing performance of elderly Taiwanese adults during iPad use

AbstractThe present study investigated the effects of drawing direction (top‐down or bottom‐up) and orientation angle (0°, 60°, or 300°) on the stability of straight‐line drawing with varied line length (5.7, 11.4, or 17.1 cm) of elderly Taiwanese adults. These three independent variables were within‐subject factors. In total, 38 elderly adults participated. The straight‐line drawing task was performed on an iPad using an electronic pen. Straight‐line drawing performance was analyzed using three‐way repeated analysis of variance measures. The results indicated that the error rate was significantly higher in the top‐down condition than in the bottom‐up condition and was higher for the 5.7‐cm line length than for the 11.4 or 17.1 cm lengths. In addition, the average drawing speed in the top‐down condition was significantly greater than that in the bottom‐up condition and was significantly greater at 17.1 and 11.4 cm than at 5.7 cm. The orientation angle also significantly affected the average drawing speed, which demonstrated that the 60° condition yielded a significantly greater speed than the 0° or 300° conditions. Our findings have implications for product design and computer–human interface design for seniors. Further studies are needed to determine whether these findings can be generalized to more complex motor movements and cognitive abilities.

Child-Centered Design: Developing an Inclusive Letter Writing App.

Everywhere there are children, there are screens, and child–computer interaction is ubiquitous. Despite their omnipresence, research on the impact of screens on children’s learning lags behind the development of digital tools. Apple’s App Store has an abundance of “educational” apps, but many of these apps’ claims are unsubstantiated. Organizations responsible for vetting quality products for young people, such as the American Library Association, are developing resources to help identify the best digital products available, but they remain difficult to find, and there is limited guidance for app designers when it comes to designing apps for younger audiences. Our interdisciplinary, empirical study was inspired by “co-creation” (Sanders and Stappers, 2008) and “cooperative inquiry” (Druin, 2005). Starting with a seed grant from Kent State University’s College of Communication and Information, our team sought to create a high-quality and inclusive alphabet app with haptic interactions and simplified gamification to reinforce the basic letter writing skills of young children. The app rewards a child’s successful handwriting with an animation of a verb that corresponds with the letter they traced. Concrete animations and digital and verbal demonstrations connect the typographic letter to the handwritten counterpart. Librarian Claudia Haines’ rubric (Haines, 2016) and the Dig Checklist (Kidmap, 2018.) guided our definition of “quality,” and children served as co-designers in two qualitative user studies. Our young designers tested prototypes, completed task booklets, and were interviewed about their preferences and their feedback informed our design. Additionally, a focus group interview with kindergarten and preschool teachers provided further feedback about the typographic design, stroke order, and gaming rewards. To be inclusive, children in both our app design and user studies were selected from a diverse pool. Our research contributes to work on co-design and cooperative inquiry in the fields of User Experience Design, human-computer interaction, human information behavior, information science, interface design, motion design, typeface design and typography for children, and early literacy development. A post-study is planned upon completion of the app.

62‐3: Invited Paper: Human Interface Design in Transition from Automated Driving to Manual Driving

This paper describes a human interface design concept of automated driving systems. Control authority while using the automated systems will be back to the driver due to the operational limitation of the automated systems of Level 2 and 3. The human interface design of the automated systems in the transition process is essential for enhancing the driver's acceptance of the information provided or the automated controls. In this study, we propose the interface design of the “Request to Intervene (RtI)” that is determined based on the difference between a driver capability and a task demand (contributed by the task‐capability interface model). This concept suggests that when the driver capability exceeds the task demand before the transition mode, the transition will be successfully completed; however, the control authority cannot return to the driver smoothly and comfortably if the task demand is higher than the driver capability. In this paper, occlusion method is introduced as an estimation method of the task demand while driving. Evaluation indices for applying to a driver monitoring system is introduced, which measures the driver capability while the automated system is active. Driving simulator experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between the driver capability and the task demand under manual drives.

Evaluating operator harvest technology within a high-fidelity combine simulator

Farming today is more complex than it has ever been. Operators are increasingly reliant on technology to aid and improve harvest performance. New harvest technology is under development that will advise harvest operators on the proper adjustment of machine harvest settings, as well as automatically adjust these machine settings without operator intervention, improving the harvest performance of the machine, and reducing the cognitive load of the operator. In this work a high-fidelity, interactive harvest combine simulator is used to understand how harvest operators currently use existing harvest technology, and to evaluate the performance improvements provided by new prototype machine control algorithms and human control interface designs. The interactive harvest simulator is used to assess an intermediate advising step for machine controls adjustment compared with a path using fully autonomous machine adjustment. Testing novel harvest technologies using the virtual environment of the combine simulator introduces a specific set of constraints and challenges that are not found in most other vehicle simulation applications, including the need for accurate physical and visual crop flow representations and a requirement for realistic machine responses to a wide variety of operator input commands. Using a high-fidelity combine simulator for testing allows unique harvest scenarios to be repeated by experienced operators in a controlled virtual environment.This study evaluates operator acceptance, performance, and feedback for two novel pieces of harvest technology, Advisor and Director. Advisor is an operator-in-the-loop system providing feedback on proper machine control adjustments during normal harvest operations. Director is designed to continuously monitor the overall harvest health and autonomously adjust the combine harvest settings. In this study, operators harvested the same virtual field twice, first using Advisor, and a second time using Director. Operators overwhelmingly perceived both the Advisor and Director systems as optimizing the harvest performance of the combine and recommended both Advisor and Director. The results presented in this work show that both systems improved the perceived harvest performance, although the Advisor was not as highly rated. Participants recommended the automated nature of Director, and both operator feedback and physiological measures indicates that this harvest technology reduced the cognitive load of the operator. This work demonstrates two main points. First, the interactive combine simulator can be used for evaluating novel harvest technology in the lab. Second, that operators can quickly acclimate to automation within the combine and were able to harvest in a more productive manner when using higher levels of automation.

創発特性を持つシステムの特徴をヒューマンインタフェースデザインに応用する手法

創発特性を持つシステムの特徴をヒューマンインタフェースデザインに応用する手法

Mental workload prediction based on attentional resource allocation and information processing.

Mental workload is an important component in complex human-machine systems. The limited applicability of empirical workload measures produces the need for workload modeling and prediction methods. In the present study, a mental workload prediction model is built on the basis of attentional resource allocation and information processing to ensure pilots' accuracy and speed in understanding large amounts of flight information on the cockpit display interface. Validation with an empirical study of an abnormal attitude recovery task showed that this model's prediction of mental workload highly correlated with experimental results. This mental workload prediction model provides a new tool for optimizing human factors interface design and reducing human errors.

Comparison between conventional and digital nuclear power plant main control rooms: A task complexity perspective, Part II: Detailed results and analysis

Part II of this study aims to provide detailed, diagnostic information about the complexity difference between conventional and digital main control rooms (MCRs) in nuclear power plants. Complexity factors were classified according to task components and complexity dimensions. The effects of operator experience and plant type on complexity factors were statistically analyzed from three levels, i.e., task components, complexity dimensions, and individual factors. Interface management complexity factors were compared with other factors in digital MCRs. The results suggest that generally operator experience had effects on several task components and complexity dimensions only in abnormal/emergency situations. Plant type affected several task component and complexity dimensions in both abnormal/emergency and normal situations. Complexity factors in the affected task components and complexity dimensions had higher frequency, complexity, or impact in digital MCRs than those in conventional MCRs. Factors related to crew activity and the dimensions of overabundance, temporal demand, and variability had relatively high frequency, complexity, or impact. Compared with other factors, interface management complexity factors had marginally higher frequency, but significantly lower complexity and impact. Relevance to industryThis study quantitatively addresses the complexity difference between conventional and digital MCRs in detail. It may provide rich information for how to improve operator working environments in NPPs. It may also contribute to other applied domains, such as human reliability analysis and interface design.

Music/Multimedia Technology: Melody Synthesis and Rhythm Creation Processes of the Hybridized Interactive Algorithmic Composition Model

Music composition, by machine, requires the solution of a number of difficult problems in the fields of algorithm design, data representation, human interface design, and software engineering in general. These aforementioned problems led to the emergence of the objectives of this research. Consequently, a concept formulation was derived from the existing algorithmic composition models – where their strengths were harnessed and their weaknesses transparently subdued. This brought about the hybridization of the existing models that gave birth to Hybridized Interactive Algorithmic Composition model that leverages on the speed and accuracy of the computer to complement human creativity in music improvisation and composition. This paper presents both the melody synthesis and rhythm creation processes of the Hybridized Interactive Algorithmic Composition Model.

Comparison of Malaysian and SAE J833 Anthropometric Proportions for Vehicle Package Design

Anthropometric measurements are critical dimensions when considering human interface design. This is especially true in vehicle package design where the interaction of the drive with the vehicle interior components need to be precisely determine as a mismatch between them would not only be detrimental to the drives comfort but driving performance and safety as well. In the past car makers often depends on standard databases derived from population that are not necessarily suited to the local population. Among the key concerns are the anthropometric measurements values and body ratio which would drive the design requirements of the vehicle package. Thus this paper describes the study which has been done to understand Malaysian Anthropometry in comparison of current available databases. The results shows significant differences in body proportion which may lead to the necessity to further study the effect of this differences.

Computer–Based Procedures for Nuclear Power Plant Field Workers

The Idaho National Laboratory and participants from the U.S. nuclear industry are collaborating on a research effort aimed to augment the existing guidance on computer-based procedure (CBP) design with specific guidance on how to design CBP user interfaces such that they support procedure execution in ways that exceed the capabilities of paper-based procedures (PBPs) without introducing new errors. Researchers are employing an iterative process where the human factors issues and interface design principles related to CBP usage are systematically addressed and evaluated in realistic settings. This paper describes the process of developing a CBP prototype and the two studies conducted to evaluate the prototype. The results indicate that CBPs may improve performance by reducing errors, but may also increase the time it takes to complete procedural tasks.

Application of a computational situation assessment model to human system interface design and experimental validation of its effectiveness

To evaluate the effects of human cognitive characteristics on situation awareness, a computational situation assessment model of nuclear power plant operators has been developed, as well as a procedure to apply the developed model to the design of human system interfaces (HSIs). The concept of the proposed procedure is to identify the key information source, which is expected to guarantee fast and accurate diagnosis when operators attend to it. The developed computational model is used to search the diagnostic paths and the key information source.In this study, an experiment with twelve trained participants was executed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed procedure. Eighteen scenarios covering various accidents were administered twice for each subject, and experimental data were collected and analyzed.As a result of the data analysis, it was validated that the salience level of information sources significantly influences the attention of operators, and the first observation of the key information sources leads operators to a quick and correct situation assessment. Therefore, we conclude that the proposed procedure for applying the developed model to HSI design is effective.

Human factors evaluation in nuclear power plant control rooms using a mobile system to support collaborative observation

Nuclear industry has several regulations and guidelines for human factors engineering (HFE) that should be applied in modernization of existing ones and in construction of new power plants. Their aim is to ensure that human factors/ergonomics are applied during the design process, making the system more controllable, reliable and safe than it would be if human factors were not adequately incorporated. Time consuming and inadequate methods for data collection and analysis in complex settings are often described as a problem to apply human factors in the design of process control systems. To facilitate the use of human factors/ergonomics in the design, we developed a mobile computer system to support collaborative observation of work teams to be used in complex environments. In this paper, we argue that collaborative observation should be used in the work teams’ knowledge elicitation for human system interface design purposes, showing the advantages of the collaborative approach in comparison to other non-collaborative ones. We describe the development of a mobile support system for collaborative observation tested in the evaluation of human system interfaces of a nuclear power simulator crew when operating a digital human-system interface. The results indicated that the mobile system stimulates collaboration among observers and the organization of overall human-system interface evaluation.

Application of Human Centered Design Process to Human Interface Design and Development

Application of Human Centered Design Process to Human Interface Design and Development

Automatically generating personalized user interfaces with Supple

Today's computer–human interfaces are typically designed with the assumption that they are going to be used by an able-bodied person, who is using a typical set of input and output devices, who has typical perceptual and cognitive abilities, and who is sitting in a stable, warm environment. Any deviation from these assumptions may drastically hamper the person's effectiveness—not because of any inherent barrier to interaction, but because of a mismatch between the person's effective abilities and the assumptions underlying the interface design. We argue that automatic personalized interface generation is a feasible and scalable solution to this challenge. We present our Supple system, which can automatically generate interfaces adapted to a person's devices, tasks, preferences, and abilities. In this paper we formally define interface generation as an optimization problem and demonstrate that, despite a large solution space (of up to 10 17 possible interfaces), the problem is computationally feasible. In fact, for a particular class of cost functions, Supple produces exact solutions in under a second for most cases, and in a little over a minute in the worst case encountered, thus enabling run-time generation of user interfaces. We further show how several different design criteria can be expressed in the cost function, enabling different kinds of personalization. We also demonstrate how this approach enables extensive user- and system-initiated run-time adaptations to the interfaces after they have been generated. Supple is not intended to replace human user interface designers—instead, it offers alternative user interfaces for those people whose devices, tasks, preferences, and abilities are not sufficiently addressed by the hand-crafted designs. Indeed, the results of our study show that, compared to manufacturers' defaults, interfaces automatically generated by Supple significantly improve speed, accuracy and satisfaction of people with motor impairments.

Human Intervention and Interface Design in Automation Systems

Human-Machine-Interfaces are with no doubt one of the constitutive parts of an automation system. However, it is not till recently that they have received appropriate attention. It is because of a major concern about aspects related to maintenance, safety, achieve operator awareness, etc has been gained. Even there are in the market software solutions that allow for the design of efficient and complex interaction systems, it is not widespread the use of a rational design of the overall interface system, especially for large scale systems where the monitoring and supervision systems may include hundreds of interfacing screens. It is on this respect hat this communication provides an example of such development also by showing how to include the automation level operational modes into the interfacing system. Another important aspect is how the human operator can enter the control loop in different ways, and such interaction needs to be considered as an integral part of the automation procedure as well as the communication of the automation device.In this paper the application of design and operational modes guidelines in automation are presented inside an educational flexible manufacturing system case study.

Assessment of Fitts’ Law for Quantifying Combined Rotational and Translational Movements

To develop a model for human performance in combined translational and rotational movements based on Fitts' law. Fitts' law has been successfully applied to translational movements in the past, providing generalization beyond a specific task as well as performance predictions. For movements involving both translations and rotations, no equivalent theory exists, making comparisons of input devices for these movements more ambiguous. The study consisted of three experiments. In the first two, participants performed either pure translational or pure rotational movements of 1 degree of freedom. The third experiment involved the same movements combined. On average, the performance times for combined movements were equal to the sum of the times for equivalent separate rotational and translational movements. A simple Fitts' law equivalent for combined movements with a similar slope as the separate components was proposed. In addition, a significant degree of coordination of the combined movements was found. This had a strong bias toward a parallel execution in 12 out of 13 participants. Combined movements with rotations and translations of 1 degree of freedom can be approximated using a simple Fitts' law equivalent. The rotational and translational components appear to be coordinated by the central nervous system to generate a parallel execution. The results may help drive human interface designs and provide insights into the coordination of combined movements. Future extensions may be possible for the movements of higher degrees of freedom used in robot teleoperation and virtual reality applications.

Goal-Based Operations: An Overview

Operating robotic space missions via time-based command sequences has become a limiting factor in the exploration, defense, and commercial sectors. Command sequencing was originally designed for comparatively simple and predictable missions, with safe-mode responses for most faults. This approach has been increasingly strained to accommodate today’s more complex missions, which require advanced capabilities such as autonomous fault diagnosis and response, vehicle mobility with hazard avoidance, opportunistic science observations, etc. Goal-based operation changes the fundamental basis of operations from imperative command sequences to declarative specifications of operational intent and termed goals. Execution based on explicit intent simplifies operator workload by focusing on what to do rather than how to do it. The move toward goal-based operations, which has already begun in some space missions, involves changes and opportunities in several places: operational processes and tools, human interface design, planning and scheduling, control architecture, fault protection, and verification and validation. Further, the need for future interoperation among multiple goal-based systems suggests that attention be given to areas for standardization. This overview paper defines the concept of goal-based operations, reviews a history of steps in this direction, and discusses the areas of change and opportunity through comparison with the prevalent operational paradigm of command sequencing.

Tactile Displays: Guidance for Their Design and Application

This article provides an overview of tactile displays. Its goal is to assist human factors practitioners in deciding when and how to employ the sense of touch for the purpose of information representation. The article also identifies important research needs in this area. First attempts to utilize the sense of touch as a medium for communication date back to the late 1950s. For the next 35 years progress in this area was relatively slow, but recent years have seen a surge in the interest and development of tactile displays and the integration of tactile signals in multimodal interfaces. A thorough understanding of the properties of this sensory channel and its interaction with other modalities is needed to ensure the effective and robust use of tactile displays. First, an overview of vibrotactile perception is provided. Next, the design of tactile displays is discussed with respect to available technologies. The potential benefit of including tactile cues in multimodal interfaces is discussed. Finally, research needs in the area of tactile information presentation are highlighted. This review provides human factors researchers and interface designers with the requisite knowledge for creating effective tactile interfaces. It describes both potential benefits and limitations of this approach to information presentation. The sense of touch represents a promising means of supporting communication and coordination in human-human and human-machine systems. Tactile interfaces can support numerous functions, including spatial orientation and guidance, attention management, and sensory substitution, in a wide range of domains.