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Virtual Reality (VR) has seen a fast growth in the past decades, thanks to increases in the quality of the visualization technologies and decreases in costs. VR is currently applied in different domains, such as medical and psychological... more
Virtual Reality (VR) has seen a fast growth in the past decades, thanks to increases in the quality of the visualization technologies and decreases in costs. VR is currently applied in different domains, such as medical and psychological therapy, industry, entertainment and training. Given the importance established by this system, it is fundamental to understand the factors that could lead to a better implementation. Trust has been seen as an important factor for other technologies, but little attention has previously been given to trust in VR systems. This work aimed to understand if the concept of presence could be one of the factors influencing trust in VR. To do so, an experiment has been conducted at The University of Nottingham. The results show that there is a relationship between presence and trust, which exists for different VR systems and encompasses all the sub-factors of trust.
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ABSTRACT
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The future's industrial workforce will be a product of today's society. As manufacturing evolves to incorporate digital manufacturing technologies (DMTs), addressing societal concerns surrounding these technologies will support... more
The future's industrial workforce will be a product of today's society. As manufacturing evolves to incorporate digital manufacturing technologies (DMTs), addressing societal concerns surrounding these technologies will support ethical and effective implementation.<br>Using the ContraVision technique, we developed two videos showing fictional, futuristic utopian and dystopian perspectives on DMTs. These videos were used to elicit feedback from the public on perceptions of these technologies. Results showed that regardless of the utopic or dystopic condition, participants acknowledged benefits of such technologies despite expressing concerns, specifically identifying issues around ethical implementation and data security.
While interest in online and blended learning has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning courses have been available for several decades. This paper provides a reflective review of the Ergonomics and Human Factors distance... more
While interest in online and blended learning has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning courses have been available for several decades. This paper provides a reflective review of the Ergonomics and Human Factors distance learning courses offered by the University of Nottingham. Some of the successes of these courses include the adoption of new collaboration technologies and the high quality practical work conducted in the students’ own workplaces. Challenges remain around maintaining student engagement, managing the impact of students’ other responsibilities on their learning, and parity of the student experience. Opportunities exist for blended learning and adopting additional technologies such as immersive virtual learning environments.
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This demonstration will show how a small number of wearable tactors can improve the suitability of a multimodal system for engineering design. It is well reported in the scientific literature that depth perception in virtual reality is... more
This demonstration will show how a small number of wearable tactors can improve the suitability of a multimodal system for engineering design. It is well reported in the scientific literature that depth perception in virtual reality is inaccurate, yet users of VR need a high-fidelity experience in several applications, including engineering, in this case so that decisions are made based on the true design intent. The tactors' vibration in this demonstration is reconfigurable to create various vibration effects, for example: frequency value ranging from 261.0 to 523.0Hz, delay (from 3830 to 1920 microseconds) and repeat effects. The avatar can be rescaled so that decision makers can experience the design from the perspective of different percentile users. We developed an integrated full-body and finger kinematics based on a combination of Microsoft Kinect and Leap Motion (LM). We explored the collider system and examined Oriented Bounding Box (OBB) and skin mesh-based colliders. We demonstrate the ways in which low-cost technologies can be appropriated to develop a wearable and usable system that offers improvements to engineering design.
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This paper presents the results of a series of studies on participatory ergonomics (PE) in Indonesian tin mining. It describes an investigation into occupational safety and recommendation on how PE can be implemented. The study was... more
This paper presents the results of a series of studies on participatory ergonomics (PE) in Indonesian tin mining. It describes an investigation into occupational safety and recommendation on how PE can be implemented. The study was conducted by postal data requests, interviews with participants including local government representatives, a tin company, and small-medium enterprises (SMEs). The study shows that support from OSH authorities is needed in order to strengthen workers’ knowledge in ergonomics and good safety practices and to allow them to implement ergonomics through training and the participatory approach. The results of this study may contribute to the implementation of PE. As a consequence of improved implementation, tin mining accidents may be reduced.
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This paper presents part of the outcomes of a programme of research into the influence of the thermal environment on human behaviour in an outdoor public seating area. The research was conducted during one month in summer, autumn and... more
This paper presents part of the outcomes of a programme of research into the influence of the thermal environment on human behaviour in an outdoor public seating area. The research was conducted during one month in summer, autumn and winter of 2015 and 2016. The data gathered consists in the conduct of people using a public square in Nottingham city centre, and measurements of the environmental conditions taken at that place. The data of Number of People and the Size of Groups of people, were analysed according with the thermal environment of the place. The results showed a strong significant correlation between Number of People and Globe Temperature_sun [r = .66, p < .001]. A multiple regression analysis found that the Number of People per minute in a public space can be predicted using the Globe Temperature_sun and the Wind Speed data of that place [R-square of .39, p < 0.001]. These prediction models can be used to forecast the occupancy of the place and the grouping of use...
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Virtual Reality (VR) can reduce time and costs, and lead to an increase in quality, in the development of a product. Given the pressure on car companies to reduce time-to-market and to continually improve quality the automotive industry... more
Virtual Reality (VR) can reduce time and costs, and lead to an increase in quality, in the development of a product. Given the pressure on car companies to reduce time-to-market and to continually improve quality the automotive industry has championed the use of VR across a number of applications, including design, manufacturing, and training. This paper describes interviews with 11 stakeholders from an automotive manufacturer about their current physical and virtual properties and processes. The results guided a review of research findings and scientific advances from the academic literature, which formed the basis of recommendations for future developments of VR technologies and applications. These include: develop a greater range of virtual contexts; use multi-sensory simulation; address perceived differences between virtual and real cars; improve motion capture capabilities; implement networked 3D technology; and use VR for market research.
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There are several simplistic, low-cost methods for evaluating the distraction of in-vehicle information systems (IVIS), intended primarily for use in the formative design process. This study compared two standardised low-cost evaluation... more
There are several simplistic, low-cost methods for evaluating the distraction of in-vehicle information systems (IVIS), intended primarily for use in the formative design process. This study compared two standardised low-cost evaluation methods, Occlusion and Lane Change Task (LCT), with a medium-fidelity driving simulation. Participants carried out tasks using an in-vehicle information system under three conditions: Using the occlusion protocol; LCT; and while driving on a motorway in the simulator. Findings provided strong evidence that the occlusion technique is a stronger candidate than the LCT for evaluating driving distraction due to IVIS. Measures from the occlusion technique (Total Shutter Open Time —TSOT; and Task Time with full vision) were found to correlate highly with the majority of the driving simulator measures (total glance time, mean glance time, driving task time, standard deviation of headway and standard deviation of lane position). Importantly, TSOT was found t...
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Participatory ergonomics (PE), the origins of which can be traced back to the western ergonomics approach, is an approach that focuses on involving workers to improve safety and health at their workplace. This paper has presented a... more
Participatory ergonomics (PE), the origins of which can be traced back to the western ergonomics approach, is an approach that focuses on involving workers to improve safety and health at their workplace. This paper has presented a literature review of studies concerning PE, the methodological approaches used to study PE and PE in industrial developing countries (IDCs). The paper has also explained factors which would seem to pose an extra challenge in applying PE in IDCs and Indonesia. The purpose of this was to provide the reader with a view of how the development of participatory ergonomics today possibly can help solve the problem of occupational safety in small-medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia.
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This case study documents the process followed to produce an alternative design of a fire extinguisher. The work focuses on how informative data can be gathered for an ethically challenging product scenario through the use of a range of... more
This case study documents the process followed to produce an alternative design of a fire extinguisher. The work focuses on how informative data can be gathered for an ethically challenging product scenario through the use of a range of user-centered research methods, including literature review, product evaluation, shadowing study, empathy study, expert interview, focus groups, and simulation equipment. Design improvements as a consequence of this process include reductions in size and weight, refillable cartridges, single-handed operation, intuitive form, minimal cleanup post-use, and better portability.
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This study presents an application of the ‘method of limits’ psychophysical technique to identify the digital colour which corresponded most closely to the colour of a real object. A chromatic scale composed of a series of digital hues... more
This study presents an application of the ‘method of limits’ psychophysical technique to identify the digital colour which corresponded most closely to the colour of a real object. A chromatic scale composed of a series of digital hues was first developed to measure colour sensation. The hues were systematically presented to the participants, who were tasked with matching them to the colour of a real car model. The study was conducted under two different illuminations (white/warm light) and against two types of background contrasts (white/black) to investigate their effects on colour perception. Post-experimental analyses revealed that background contrast is a significant factor but not illumination. The results were validated at the Jaguar Land Rover Virtual Reality (VR) suite. Going forward, the methodology developed in this study could be used to examine other factors such as depth perception and viewing angles.
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Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Technology, Usability, Human Factors, and 15 moreAugmented Reality, Performance, Satisfaction, Virtual Reality, Automotive, Classification, Acquisition, Skills, Systems, Geomatic Engineering, Science Technology, Simulator, Effectiveness of Training, service Business, and Imaging Science & Photographic Technology
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Research Interests: Engineering, Human Factors, New Product Development, Automotive Industry, Medicine, and 13 moreAutomobiles, Virtual Reality, Automotive, Humans, Computer Simulation, Applied Ergonomics, Three Dimensional Imaging, Medical Physiology, Computer User Interface Design, Human Engineering, Equipment Design, Automobile driving, and Interviews as topic
The high rate of innovations being introduced on high-tech products requires fast and efficient approaches for information and knowledge transfer, especially in the area of service and maintenance tasks. The Digital Factory, with its... more
The high rate of innovations being introduced on high-tech products requires fast and efficient approaches for information and knowledge transfer, especially in the area of service and maintenance tasks. The Digital Factory, with its methods and tools, can help to improve the service quality and at the same time reduce the costs associated with maintenance operations. The developed tool for augmented reality (AR) based maintenance supports the creation of AR-based workflows and their execution within a collaborative environment. Targeted to small and medium enterprises, the DiFac development is based on the three theoretical pillars of presence, collaboration, and ergonomics. The achieved results are continuously validated by end users and human factors experts. This chapter presents the conceptual training framework developed within the DiFac project, its realization for the task of AR-based maintenance, and the evaluation of the developed components.
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Trust has been seen as extremely important for the efficacy and effectiveness of, among others, Virtual Teams (Edwards and Wilson, 2004) and e-commerce transactions (Shankar, Urban, and Sultan, 2002). Given the growing importance of VR,... more
Trust has been seen as extremely important for the efficacy and effectiveness of, among others, Virtual Teams (Edwards and Wilson, 2004) and e-commerce transactions (Shankar, Urban, and Sultan, 2002). Given the growing importance of VR, it is fundamental to create a model for understanding the factors influencing trust and how trust can increase the efficacy of VR.
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Vehicles are increasingly utilizing technologies developed in non-automotive domains. In this respect, capacitive touchscreens are familiar to smartphone and tablet computer users enabling a wide range of single and multi-touch gestures,... more
Vehicles are increasingly utilizing technologies developed in non-automotive domains. In this respect, capacitive touchscreens are familiar to smartphone and tablet computer users enabling a wide range of single and multi-touch gestures, but have not been considered fully in a driving context. A simulator study was conducted aiming to understand the visual distraction of different touchscreens in vehicles. Twenty participants drove two routes whilst undertaking a range of secondary tasks using either a traditional resistive touchscreen or a capacitive touchscreen. Results indicated a range of benefits for capacitive touchscreens in this context. Objectively, participants took less time to complete tasks with the capacitive touchscreen when compared to the resistive touchscreen. In addition, they made less glances and spent less overall time glancing towards the in-vehicle display in this condition. Finally, there was evidence for reduced lane position variability with the capacitive touchscreen on specific tasks. Subjectively, drivers overwhelmingly preferred the capacitive touchscreen over the resistive touchscreen, rating it to be relatively higher in quality and easier to manipulate, especially while driving. The conclusions highlight the importance of optimizing in-vehicle interfaces for use in the safety-critical driving situation.
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Abstract: This chapter considers the value of tacit knowledge and expertise that end users and other stakeholders possess when developing security solutions. In order to capture important user requirements data, it is necessary to take a... more
Abstract: This chapter considers the value of tacit knowledge and expertise that end users and other stakeholders possess when developing security solutions. In order to capture important user requirements data, it is necessary to take a user-centered approach to understand security from a human factors perspective. A variety of direct and nondirect methods are available to assist with the collection of user requirements, and this chapter considers practical issues of their use in sensitive domains. In addition, tools are available (e.g., organizational profiling, personas, link analysis, and tabulated patterns of communications) that help researchers each communicate ideas back to users and stakeholders as well as develop a further understanding of significant issues. A case study is used to illustrate this approach and from the initial user requirements, key training needs are identified across a range of end users and other stakeholders. The findings provide valuable insight into future security training for large organizations as well as a basis for developing future security interventions.