Examining Safety Behaviour on Construction Sites Using Virtual Reality

The purpose of this study is to investigate the behaviour of people in relation to construction site hazards using virtual reality. The three broad areas of study are: Firstly, comparing the effect of the location of hazards and types of warnings on hazard identification and rate of safety violations. Secondly, comparing laptop screen and VR headset displays. Finally, investigating the effect of safe and unsafe co-worker examples on people’s safety behaviours. This study used an eye-tracking virtual reality (VR) headset and an electroencephalograph (EEG) brain band to track people’s gaze points and measure their brainwaves as they interact with a virtual construction site. This study identified the situations when bollards, warning signs, beeping sounds and verbal warnings should be used to protect people from injuries. A model of perception and decision-making processes for navigating a construction site was proposed. This model contains risk attitudes, behaviours, decisions and consequences based on the site layout, especially the warning systems, and co-worker behaviours. It is also suggested that a VR application should have a desktop version for better accessibility, and that VR hardware should be selected to fit the specific situation. A limitation of this study is that the participants were Australian Civil Engineering students, rather than, for example, construction site labourers. The novelty of this study is the way that eye-tracking, EEG and VR technologies have been combined to test the effectiveness of hazard controls on construction sites. This thesis not only contributes to safety management in the construction industry, but also helps to establish the fundamental design principles of VR construction simulators for training purposes

Effect of time pressure in behavioural compliance with warnings : a study with virtual reality

Warnings, posted signs, alarms and labels on products are a constant in our everyday routine. All this information is made available with the main purpose of warning us of the risks and dangers to which we are exposed. The purpose of the present study was to examine how time pressure affects the compliance with warnings/ posted signs and exit signs. A virtual reality (VR) scenario was used. Fifty participants, were divided in two groups, one with no time pressure and the other with time pressure, to perform a work security verification routine during which a fire occurred and the participants had to leave the building guided by the exit signs. The results suggests that, under time pressure, the compliance with signs is worse. This work aims to contribute to the design of more effective warnings.Avisos, sinais, alarmes e rótulos de produtos são uma constante no nosso dia-a- dia. Esta informação é disponibilizada com o objetivo de nos alertar para os riscos e perigos a que estamos expostos. Este trabalho teve como objectivo avaliar como a pressão temporal influencia a consonância comportamental com avisos/sinais e sinalização de saída de emergência Para tal, utilizou-se um cenário de realidade virtual (RV). Cinquenta participantes divididos em dois grupos, um sem pressão temporal e outro com a pressão temporal, tinham de executar uma rotina de verificação de segurança, durante a qual ocorria um incêndio e, para saírem do edifício, os participantes tinham de seguir os sinais de saída de emergência. Os resultados sugerem que, sob pressão temporal, a consonância comportamental com sinais é pior do que quando não existe pressão temporal. Este trabalho tem como objetivo contribuir para a concepção de avisos mais eficazes

Development of a model based on virtual reality for the evaluation of behavioral compliance with warnings and wayfinding contexts

Virtual Reality (VR) when framed in adequate methodologies, has an ample field of application for Ergonomics and for Design, since it allows to analyze and understand how people interaction with simulated situations in Virtual Environments (VEs). As such, it is of extreme importance for research and the practice of Ergonomics, to understand how it is possible to optimize, create, implement and evaluate solutions based in VEs in different contexts, including dangerous one, in particular those that can place in risk the physical integrity of people. These VEs can be used to study the Human behavior in critical situations, which is important when projecting products and systems that involve dangers to the users that would be difficult to study otherwise. In this context, this project has as its general objective the study of the factors that influence the development of VEs for VR and in the implementation of solutions (with a focus on the software and hardware) that better can correspond to the development of this type of studies, namely in studies of behavioral compliance with warnings and in studies of wayfinding. The methodological proposal described in this document focuses in a User-Centered Design (UCD) perspective, which involved the participation of the users, in the different phases of development of the project. As a result, it was developed and evaluated software and hardware solutions for the understanding and evaluation of the factors associated to the study of Human behavior, namely in behavioral compliance with warnings and in wayfinding contexts. It was also studied the best solutions for interaction and navigation in VEs, that correspond to high levels of presence, which is a fundamental aspect in behavioral compliance with warnings and wayfinding studies that use VR as a support tool. With this purpose, two navigational interfaces were developed (i.e., Balance Board and Walk-in-Place), also in a UCD perspective, to guarantee a constant cycle of tests and improvement of the implementations among the users. A comparative study was made between these two navigational interfaces and another that is commonly used in studies with VR (i.e., a Joystick). This comparative study was conducted in a context of evaluation of behavioral compliance with warnings and performance variables were analyzed, as well as the levels of presence in the different navigational interfaces. There were no statistically significant differences in the levels of presence or in the behavioral compliance between the three navigational interfaces. However, statistically significant differences were found in several performance variables (e.g., average speed, total distance). Future directions for the research are also discussed.A Realidade Virtual (RV) quando enquadrada em metodologias adequadas, tem um campo de aplicação alargado para a Ergonomia e o Design, visto permitir analisar e compreender como as pessoas interagem com situações simuladas em Ambientes Virtuais (AVs). Desta forma, é de extrema importância para a investigação ou prática da Ergonomia, perceber como se pode optimizar, construir, implementar e avaliar soluções baseadas em AVs em diferentes contextos, incluindo contextos perigosos, particularmente aqueles que podem colocar em risco a integridade física das pessoas. Estes AVs podem ser usados para estudar o comportamento Humano em situações críticas, o que é importante quando se projecta produtos e sistemas que envolvam perigos para os utilizadores que de outra forma seria muito difícil avaliar. Neste contexto, este projecto tem como objectivo geral o estudo dos factores que influenciam o desenvolvimento de ambientes para Realidade Virtual e na implementação de soluções (com um foco maior no software e hardware) que melhor possam corresponder ao desenvolvimento deste tipo de estudos, nomeadamente em estudos de consonância comportamental com avisos de segurança e estudos de wayfinding. A proposta metodológica descrita neste documento foca-se numa perspectiva de Design Centrado no Utilizador (DCU), que envolveu a participação dos utilizadores, nas várias fases de desenvolvimento do projecto. Como resultado, desenvolveu-se e avaliou-se soluções de software e hardware para a compreensão e avaliação dos factores associados ao estudo do comportamento Humano, nomeadamente para a consonância comportamental com avisos de segurança e para situações de wayfinding. Foram também estudadas as melhores soluções para interacção e navegação em AVs, que correspondam a níveis de presença elevados, aspecto fundamental em estudos de consonância comportamental com avisos de segurança e em estudos de wayfinding que usam RV. Com este intuito, foram desenvolvidas duas interfaces de navegação para Realidade Virtual (i.e., Balance Board e Walk-in-Place), também numa perspectiva de DCU, para garantir um constante ciclo de testes e aperfeiçoamento das implementações junto dos utilizadores. Foi realizado um estudo comparativo entre estas duas interfaces de navegação e uma outra que é utilizada mais frequentemente em estudos com RV (i.e., um Joystick). Este estudo comparativo realizou-se num contexto de avaliação da consonância comportamental com avisos de segurança e foram analisadas variáveis de desempenho, assim como os níveis de presença das diferentes interfaces de navegação. Não se observaram diferenças estatisticamente significativas em relação aos níveis de presença nem em relação à consonância comportamental entre as três interfaces de navegação. No entanto, foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas em várias variáveis de desempenho (e.g., velocidade média, distância percorrida). Também são discutidas as possíveis linhas de investigação de continuação ao trabalho

Research on Workplace Safety Sign Compliance: Validation of a Virtual Environment Prototype

AbstractRecent studies have highlighted Virtual Environments (VEs) as feasible tools for conducting safety sign research. Conversely, guidelines on how to conduct such studies with workplace safety signs and older workers, is scarce. The nature of this study is justified by the fact that, as workers grow older, their ability to comply with such signs is adversely affected by age-related deficits. Therefore, the present pilot study sought to assess the quality of a VE prototype that was specifically designed to conduct safety sign research with middle-aged working adults (50-65 yrs). Using a work-related context, and a sample of twelve workers, the study consisted of two key moments: 1) to examine the workers’ interaction, by evaluating their behavioral compliance; and 2) to analyze their overall user experience, by assessing their subjective perceptions. In order to undergo such an evaluation, the following VE interaction issues were addressed: simulator sickness, sense of presence, level of engagement and hazard perception. Both behavioral and subjective data were gathered from three sources: observation, post-hoc questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. Results reveal that: 1) the VE's workplace safety signs were ineffective in promoting behavioral compliance; and 2) despite the occurrence of some simulator sickness, overall, participants had high levels of presence and engagement, as well as correctly perceived the VE's hazard. In conclusion, the VE prototype proved to be adequate for the study's purpose

Symbolic representation of scenarios in Bologna airport on virtual reality concept

This paper is a part of a big Project named Retina Project, which is focused in reduce the workload of an ATCO. It uses the last technological advances as Virtual Reality concept. The work has consisted in studying the different awareness situations that happens daily in Bologna Airport. It has been analysed one scenario with good visibility where the sun predominates and two other scenarios with poor visibility where the rain and the fog dominate. Due to the study of visibility in the three scenarios computed, the conclusion obtained is that the overlay must be shown with a constant dimension regardless the position of the aircraft to be readable by the ATC and also, the frame and the flight strip should be coloured in a showy colour (like red) for a better control by the ATCO

Eye tracking applied to tobacco smoking: current directions and future perspectives

Over the years the general awareness of the health costs associated with tobacco smoking has motivated scientists to apply the measurement of eye movements to this form of addiction. On one hand they have investigated whether smokers attend and look preferentially at smoking related scenes and objects. In parallel, on the other hand eye tracking has been used to test how smokers and nonsmokers interact with the different types of health warning that policymakers have mandated in tobacco advertisements and packages. Here we provide an overview of the main findings from the different lines of research, such as the evidence related to the attentional bias for smoking cues in smokers and the evidence that graphic warning labels and plain packages measurably increase the salience of the warning labels. We point to some open questions, such as the conditions that determine whether heavy smokers exhibit a tendency to actively avoid looking at graphic warning labels. Finally we argue that the research applied to gaze exploration of warning labels would benefit from a more widespread use of the more naturalistic testing conditions (e.g. mobile eye tracking or virtual reality) that have been introduced to study the smokers’ attentional bias for tobacco-related objects when freely exploring the surrounding environment.  

An interface to virtual environments for people who are blind using Wii technology - mental models and navigation

Accessible games, both for serious and for entertainment purposes, would allow inclusion and participation for those with disabilities. Research into the development of accessible games, and accessible virtual environments, is discussed. Research into accessible Virtual Environments has demonstrated great potential for allowing people who are blind to explore new spaces, reducing their reliance on guides, and aiding development of more efficient spatial maps and strategies. Importantly, Lahav and Mioduser (2005, 2008) have demonstrated that, when exploring virtual spaces, people who are blind use more and different strategies than when exploring real physical spaces, and develop relatively accurate spatial representations of them. The present paper describes the design, development and evaluation of a system in which a virtual environment may be explored by people who are blind using Nintendo Wii devices, with auditory and haptic feedback. The nature of the various types of feedback is considered, with the aim of creating an intuitive and usable system. Using Wii technology has many advantages, not least of which are that it is mainstream, readily available and cheap. The potential of the system for exploration and navigation is demonstrated. Results strongly support the possibilities of the system for facilitating and supporting the construction of cognitive maps and spatial strategies. Intelligent support is discussed. Systems such as the present one will facilitate the development of accessible games, and thus enable Universal Design and accessible interactive technology to become more accepted and widespread

Analysis and testing of an online solution to monitor and solve safety issues for industrial systems

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