Engineering data compendium. Human perception and performance. User's guide

The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product of a research and development program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design and military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from the existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by systems designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is the first volume, the User's Guide, containing a description of the program and instructions for its use

Head-mounted Sensory Augmentation System for Navigation in Low Visibility Environments

Sensory augmentation can be used to assist in some tasks where sensory information is limited or sparse. This thesis focuses on the design and investigation of a head-mounted vibrotactile sensory augmentation interface to assist navigation in low visibility environments such as firefighters’ navigation or travel aids for visually impaired people. A novel head-mounted vibrotactile interface comprising a 1-by-7 vibrotactile display worn on the forehead is developed. A series of psychophysical studies is carried out with this display to (1) determine the vibrotactile absolute threshold, (2) investigate the accuracy of vibrotactile localization, and (3) evaluate the funneling illusion and apparent motion as sensory phenomena that could be used to communicate navigation signals. The results of these studies provide guidelines for the design of head-mounted interfaces. A 2nd generation head-mounted sensory augmentation interface called the Mark-II Tactile Helmet is developed for the application of firefighters’ navigation. It consists of a ring of ultrasound sensors mounted to the outside of a helmet, a microcontroller, two batteries and a refined vibrotactile display composed of seven vibration motors based on the results of the aforementioned psychophysical studies. A ‘tactile language’, that is, a set of distinguishable vibrotactile patterns, is developed for communicating navigation commands to the Mark-II Tactile Helmet. Four possible combinations of two command presentation modes (continuous, discrete) and two command types (recurring, single) are evaluated for their effectiveness in guiding users along a virtual wall in a structured environment. Continuous and discrete presentation modes use spatiotemporal patterns that induce the experience of apparent movement and discrete movement on the forehead, respectively. The recurring command type presents the tactile command repeatedly with an interval between patterns of 500 ms while the single command type presents the tactile command just once when there is a change in the command. The effectiveness of this tactile language is evaluated according to the objective measures of the users’ walking speed and the smoothness of their trajectory parallel to the virtual wall and subjective measures of utility and comfort employing Likert-type rating scales. The Recurring Continuous (RC) commands that exploit the phenomena of apparent motion are most effective in generating efficient routes and fast travel, and are most preferred. Finally, the optimal tactile language (RC) is compared with audio guidance using verbal instructions to investigate effectiveness in delivering navigation commands. The results show that haptic guidance leads to better performance as well as lower cognitive workload compared to auditory feedback. This research demonstrates that a head-mounted sensory augmentation interface can enhance spatial awareness in low visibility environments and could help firefighters’ navigation by providing them with supplementary sensory information

Ubiquitous haptic feedback in human-computer interaction through electrical muscle stimulation

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Assisting Navigation and Object Selection with Vibrotactile Cues

Our lives have been drastically altered by information technology in the last decades, leading to evolutionary mismatches between human traits and the modern environment. One particular mismatch occurs when visually demanding information technology overloads the perceptual, cognitive or motor capabilities of the human nervous system. This information overload could be partly alleviated by complementing visual interaction with haptics. The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate how to assist movement control with vibrotactile cues. Vibrotactile cues refer to technologymediated vibrotactile signals that notify users of perceptual events, propose users to make decisions, and give users feedback from actions. To explore vibrotactile cues, we carried out five experiments in two contexts of movement control: navigation and object selection. The goal was to find ways to reduce information load in these tasks, thus helping users to accomplish the tasks more effectively. We employed measurements such as reaction times, error rates, and task completion times. We also used subjective rating scales, short interviews, and free-form participant comments to assess the vibrotactile assisted interactive systems. The findings of this thesis can be summarized as follows. First, if the context of movement control allows the use of both feedback and feedforward cues, feedback cues are a reasonable first option. Second, when using vibrotactile feedforward cues, using low-level abstractions and supporting the interaction with other modalities can keep the information load as low as possible. Third, the temple area is a feasible actuation location for vibrotactile cues in movement control, including navigation cues and object selection cues with head turns. However, the usability of the area depends on contextual factors such as spatial congruency, the actuation device, and the pace of the interaction task

Engineering Data Compendium. Human Perception and Performance, Volume 1

The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product an R and D program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design of military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by system designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is Volume 1, which contains sections on Visual Acquisition of Information, Auditory Acquisition of Information, and Acquisition of Information by Other Senses

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 139

The biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which man is subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space are referenced. Similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Related topics such as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors are discussed. Applied research is emphasized, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development are also included. A total of 242 reports, articles, and other documents are listed

Touching is believing: creating illusions and feeling of embodiment with mid-air haptic technology

Over the last two decades, the sense of touch has received new attention from the scientific community.Several haptic devices have been developed to address the complexity of the sense of touch, the latest addition being mid-air (contactless) haptic technology. An interesting series of previous research has suggested an easier way to tackle the complexity of designing convincing tactile sensations by exploiting tactile illusions. Tactile illusions rely on perceptual shortcuts based on the psychophysics of the tactile receptors. Currently, studies exploring the perceptual space of mid-air haptics and its applicability in the tactile illusions field are still limited in number. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) by investigating the perceptual design space of ultrasonic mid-air haptics technology. Specifically, in a first set of three studies, we investigate the absolute thresholds (minimal amount of a property of astimulus that a user can detect) for control points (CP) at different frequencies on the hand and arm (Study 1). Then we investigate the optimal sampling rate needed to drive the device in an optimal fashion and its relationship with shape size (Study 2). Next, we apply a new technique to increase users’ performance in a shape discrimination task (Study 3). In Study 4, we start the exploration of a tactile illusion of movement using contact touch and later, we apply a similar procedure to investigate the feasibility of creating a tactile illusion of movement between the two non-interconnected hands by using mid-air touch (Study 5). Finally, in Study 6, we explore our sense of touch in VR, while providing an illusion of rain drops through mid-air haptics, to recreate a virtual hand illusion (VHI) to explore the boundaries of our sense of embodiment. Therefore, the contribution of this work is threefold: a) we contribute by adding new knowledge on the psychophysical space for mid-air haptics, b) we test the potential to create realistic tactile sensations by exploiting tactile illusions with mid-air haptic technology, and c) we demonstrate how tactile illusions mediated by mid-air haptics can convey a sense of embodiment in VR environments

Cortical Diagnostics: Measuring Brain Health through Somatosensation

Over the past several years, a number of unique quantitative tactile based sensory testing methods were designed with the intent of obtaining objective metrics that would be sensitive to alterations in cortical information processing. The design of these tasks was based on information obtained from neurophysiological studies of the nonhuman primate (NHP) cerebral sensory cortical response to a variety of modes of natural skin stimulation, and these NHP studies typically exhibit characteristics of cortical modularity, or cortical-cortical dynamics that occur between adjacent and near-adjacent assemblies of cortical neurons. The initial goal of these studies was to demonstrate cortical correlates of perception by comparing observations of stimulus evoked activity in primary somatosensory cortex of non-human primates, and a secondary goal was to demonstrate that these measures of sensory perception were altered in a predictable fashion with neurological insult. To date, observations consistent with systemic cortical alterations have been made in individuals with neurotrauma (concussion/TBI, stroke), neurodevelopmental disorders (Autism, ADHD, Tourette's, OCD) and chronic pain (migraine, fibromyalgia, VVS, TMJD, carpal tunnel syndrome). One unifying theme of these findings is the role that cortical modularity plays in sensory information processing and that when cortical modularity is disrupted, significant quantifiable deficits in sensory information processing can be detected.Doctor of Philosoph

Using pressure input and thermal feedback to broaden haptic interaction with mobile devices

Pressure input and thermal feedback are two under-researched aspects of touch in mobile human-computer interfaces. Pressure input could provide a wide, expressive range of continuous input for mobile devices. Thermal stimulation could provide an alternative means of conveying information non-visually. This thesis research investigated 1) how accurate pressure-based input on mobile devices could be when the user was walking and provided with only audio feedback and 2) what forms of thermal stimulation are both salient and comfortable and so could be used to design structured thermal feedback for conveying multi-dimensional information. The first experiment tested control of pressure on a mobile device when sitting and using audio feedback. Targeting accuracy was >= 85% when maintaining 4-6 levels of pressure across 3.5 Newtons, using only audio feedback and a Dwell selection technique. Two further experiments tested control of pressure-based input when walking and found accuracy was very high (>= 97%) even when walking and using only audio feedback, when using a rate-based input method. A fourth experiment tested how well each digit of one hand could apply pressure to a mobile phone individually and in combination with others. Each digit could apply pressure highly accurately, but not equally so, while some performed better in combination than alone. 2- or 3-digit combinations were more precise than 4- or 5-digit combinations. Experiment 5 compared one-handed, multi-digit pressure input using all 5 digits to traditional two-handed multitouch gestures for a combined zooming and rotating map task. Results showed comparable performance, with multitouch being ~1% more accurate but pressure input being ~0.5sec faster, overall. Two experiments, one when sitting indoors and one when walking indoors tested how salient and subjectively comfortable/intense various forms of thermal stimulation were. Faster or larger changes were more salient, faster to detect and less comfortable and cold changes were more salient and faster to detect than warm changes. The two final studies designed two-dimensional structured ‘thermal icons’ that could convey two pieces of information. When indoors, icons were correctly identified with 83% accuracy. When outdoors, accuracy dropped to 69% when sitting and 61% when walking. This thesis provides the first detailed study of how precisely pressure can be applied to mobile devices when walking and provided with audio feedback and the first systematic study of how to design thermal feedback for interaction with mobile devices in mobile environments

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A cumulative index to a continuing bibliography

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in Supplements 138 through 149 of AEROSPACE MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY: A CONTINUING BIBLIOGRAPHY. It includes three indexes -- subject, personal author, and corporate source