Seamless-based Infomobility Applications to Support the Needs of All Travellers

Non

Evaluation of Rider's Support Systems in Power Two Wheelers (PTWs)

AbstractThe study aimed to investigate the potential of In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS) integration on motorcycles for the most crucial functionalities and develop efficient and rider-friendly interfaces and interaction elements for riders comfort and safety. The main objectives were to estimate the safety impact and user acceptance of the prototypes in a series of pilot applications within the SAFERIDER project.Field tests were conducted with a Piaggio MP3 Hybrid. The On-Bike Information System (OBIS) evaluated was the Navigation and Route guidance (NV, RG) with three different HMIs: Visual (display) Acoustic & Haptic (Smart Helmet). 18 riders (37 ±8.5 years old) participated in the field tests and completed a questionnaires’ battery on workload and user acceptance for each condition (i.e. HMI).Higher values were observed for the haptic HMI (5.5±1.21), then for the audio (4.51±0.84) and the lower for the visual display of the navigator (3.87±0.79) for both usability and acceptance. Sensory load is increased with the visual and audio HMI and decrease significantly (p<.05) with the vibration signals within the helmet. Moreover, the NV+RG experience was perceived as more stressful than the audio and haptic; with the latter being of significant magnitude (p<.05). Statistically significant higher physical activity is required in the visually demanding condition (Navigation and Route Guidance display) compared to the haptic signalling condition (p=.015). Safety, performance and derived enjoyment by the riding experience are increased and perceived risk is decreased.Overall, the haptic HMI was the most preferred and was perceived as safer for the Navigation and Route Guidance system. Moreover, most participants believed that they would use it in urban and unfamiliar traffic environments as it was more appealing and pleasant

Risk analysis of innovative maritime transport solutions using the extended failure mode and effects analysis fmea methodology

This paper presents a validated set of innovative maritime solutions&nbsp;analyzing, based on the extended"br" Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) methodology, the main risks that could potentially hinder or delay"br" their implementation, thus providing a set of appropriate strategies and measures that can be adopted for"br" mitigating those risks. Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

Auto-personalization: Theory, practice and cross-platform implementation

In an increasing digital society, access to information and communication technologies (ICT) is no longer just helpful but has become a necessity. However, the human interfaces appearing on these ICT (and increasingly, even common household products) are beyond of the abilities of many people with disability, digital literacy, or aging related limitations. Access to these ICT is essential to these individuals yet it is not possible to create an interface that is usable by all. This paper introduces a new approach to auto-personalization that is based on the development of the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII). The GPII is a new international collaborative effort between users, developers and industry to build a sustainable infrastructure to make access to all digital technologies technically and economically possible, including access by users who are unable to use or understand today�s technologies. Based on a one-size-fits-one approach, the GPII uses auto-adapting mainstream interfaces, and ubiquitous access to assistive technologies when mainstream interfaces cannot adapt enough, to provide each user with the interface they need. The GPII has three main components: a mechanism to allow individuals to easily discover which interface variations they need and then store it in a secure way on a token or in the cloud; a mechanism to allow them to use these stored needs and preferences to automatically adapt the interfaces on the digital technologies they encounter, anywhere and anytime; and a resource for developers (mainstream and assistive technology) providing the information and tools required to develop, disseminate, and support new access solutions more simply, more quickly, and at lower cost

Cognitive Ergonomics in Virtual Environments: Development of an Intuitive and Appropriate Input Device for Navigating in a Virtual Maze

For patients suffering from mild cognitive impairments, the navigation through a virtual maze should be as intuitive and efficient as possible in order to minimize cognitive and physical strain. This paper discusses the appropriateness of interaction devices for being used for easy navigation tasks. Information gained from human centered evaluation was used to develop an intuitive and ergonomic interaction device. Two experiments examined the usability of tracked interaction devices. Usability problems with the devices are discussed. The findings from the experiments were translated into general design guidance, in addition to specific recommendations. A new device was designed on the basis of these recommendations and its usability was evaluated in a second experiment. The results were used to develop a lightweight interaction device for navigation in the virtual maz

Neurophysiological Age Differences During Task-Performance in a Stereoscopic Virtual Environment

In today's society, there is an increasing number of workplaces in virtual environments (VE). But, there are only a few reports dealing with occupational health issues or age effects. The question arises how VR generally interferes with cognitive processes. This interference might have relevant implications for workability and work-efficiency in virtual environments. Event-related potentials are known to reflect different stages of stimulus reception, evaluation, and response. We have established an electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring, focussing on event-related potentials (N100; mismatch negativity, i.e., MMN) to obtain access to attention dependent and pre-attentive processing of sensory stimuli applied in VE. The MMN is known to be correlated with the ability of subjects to react to an unexpected event. The aim of the present study was to investigate cognitive responses to distracting auditory stimuli in two different age groups in a virtual environment (VE) and in a real environment ("real reality”), and to compare characteristic neurophysiological response patterns. Data show that stimulus detection as given by the N100 amplitude and latency does not differ in both age groups and task conditions. In contrast, the pre-attentive processing as given by the MMN is altered in the VR such as the non-VR condition in an age-related manner. A relevant finding of the present study was that the age related differences seen in the non-VR condition were not strengthened in V

Stimulation of Cortisol During Mental Task Performance in a Provocative Virtual Environment

Fully immersive and stereoscopic Virtual Environments (VE) represent a powerful multimedia tool for laboratory-based simulations of distinct scenarios including scenarios for evaluating stressful situations resembling reality. Thus far, cortisol secretion as a neuroendocrine parameter of stress has not been evaluated within a Virtual Reality (VR)-based paradigm. In this study 94 healthy volunteers were subjected to a provocative VR-paradigm and a cognitive stress task. Provocative in this context means the VE was designed to provoke physiological reactions (cortisol secretion) within the respective users by purpose. It was tested (a) if a fully dynamic VE as opposed to a static VE can be regarded as a stressor and (b) if such a fully dynamic VE can modify an additional response to a cognitive stressor presented within the VE additionally. Furthermore, possible gender-related impacts on cortisol responses were assessed. A significant cortisol increase was observed only after the combined application of the fully dynamic VE and the cognitive stressor, but not after application of the dynamic VE or the cognitive stressor alone. Cortisol reactivity was greater for men than for women. We conclude that a fully dynamic VE does not affect cortisol secretion per se, but increases cortisol responses to a dual task paradigm that includes performance of a stressful mental task. This provides the basis for the application of VR-based technologies in neuroscientific research, including the assessment of the human Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis regulatio