Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2015
Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIM... more Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIMS), continues to affect the usability of this technology. Aside from medicine, physical hand-eye-coordination tasks have been found to be effective in mitigating symptoms of VIMS, however the need for equipment outside of virtual reality limits the usefulness of these mitigation techniques. In this study, 21 participants were sickened via a virtual obstacle course and used one of two mitigation techniques. The first, natural decay, is simply waiting outside the virtual environment (VE) for symptoms to subside; the other was a virtual peg-in-hole task, performed in the VE with a gamepad. A paired samples t-test confirmed that the virtual obstacle course induced VIMS. Both mitigation techniques significantly lessened the symptoms of VIMS, but there were no significant differences in the effectiveness of mitigation between the two techniques. A virtual mitigation method allowing continued i...
Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUB... more Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUBLISHED
International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2020
This work describes a combine harvester simulator and virtual environment (VE). This interactive ... more This work describes a combine harvester simulator and virtual environment (VE). This interactive and realistic simulator is a novel and unique apparatus used for development and testing of human-machine systems during the design of agricultural vehicles and systems. The combine simulator and VE are being used to develop and evaluate new technologies and automated systems. The simulator provides an innovative testing platform in which to conduct active harvesting experiments that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to perform. The successes of two studies, 'auger spout aiming' and 'combine implement adjust' are described, including experimental results. The novel approach used with this simulator to acquire the voice of the customer can be generalised to the development of other products with a human interface, and applications in other domains are considered.
Gaining insight into the unique characteristics of participants during user research is a valuabl... more Gaining insight into the unique characteristics of participants during user research is a valuable tool for both recruitment and understanding differences within the target population. This work describes an agricultural harvest knowledge survey that was created for user research studies that observed experienced combine operators driving a combine simulator in virtual crop fields. Two variations of the survey were designed, utilized, and evaluated in two separate studies. Both studies found a difference between low and high knowledge operators' performance on the knowledge survey in addition to performance differences. Based on the success of this survey as a population segmentation tool, the authors recommend three criteria for the design of future knowledge surveys in other domains: 1) use real world scenarios, 2) ensure question are neither too difficult nor too easy, and 3) ask the minimum number of questions to identify operator knowledge successfully. Future research aims to create a tool that can discern between system experts (with deep understanding of the system) and practice experts (who primarily have the wisdom of experience).
The practice of human factors in agriculture presents numerous challenges for the researcher. Di... more The practice of human factors in agriculture presents numerous challenges for the researcher. Difficulties include measuring operator behaviors in the agricultural field as well as identifying individual tasks, order of tasks, length of tasks, and operator motivation for each task. To confidently build a baseline for how operators use and appropriate their resources during the planting agricultural season, a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods were combined to create OCTA (operator-centered task analysis), a hybrid methodology to observe, document, explain, and potentially predict operator behaviors in the field. The OCTA model draws from four main methodologies: observation, interview, behavioral and interview coding, and task analysis. This work describes the development and implementation of OCTA, and how to replicate its use. While the OCTA methodology was developed in an agricultural context, it can be generalized for use with nearly any observable human-machine interaction system.
Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIM... more Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIMS), continues to affect the usability of this technology. Aside from medicine, physical hand-eye-coordination tasks have been found to be effective in mitigating symptoms of VIMS, however the need for equipment outside of virtual reality limits the usefulness of these mitigation techniques. In this study, 21 participants were sickened via a virtual obstacle course and used one of two mitigation techniques. The first, natural decay, is simply waiting outside the virtual environment (VE) for symptoms to subside; the other was a virtual peg-in-hole task, performed in the VE with a gamepad. A paired samples t-test confirmed that the virtual obstacle course induced VIMS. Both mitigation techniques significantly lessened the symptoms of VIMS, but there were no significant differences in the effectiveness of mitigation between the two techniques. A virtual mitigation method allowing continued immersion in a VE would pave the way for long-term immersion virtual reality studies, involving topics such as vigilance or training.
Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUB... more Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUBLISHED
Conducting research within virtual environments poses unique challenges when trying to measure me... more Conducting research within virtual environments poses unique challenges when trying to measure mental effort and visually induced motion sickness. Determining how much mental effort an individual is exerting at any given point has historically been reserved for a human factors expert review and self-report such as NASA-TLX. When using an objective measure of mental effort via electrodermal activity (EDA), the subjective piece of this measure no longer carries the entire burden of proof. This research explores whether electrodermal activity (EDA) can be used as a successful indicator of mental effort for a single user in a controlled environment while performing scenario-based tasks. Additionally, EDA will be explored as a potential predictive measure of visually induced motion sickness within virtual environments. Two studies were conducted to contribute to this research. The first study observed 28 participants in a combine vehicle simulator and showed there is a decrease in EDA levels over time as familiarity with the system increases. The second study included 57 participants who navigated a visually disruptive virtual maze using a 3D head-mounted display. This study demonstrated a positive correlation between EDA and reported sickness in the first half of the study and a positive correlation between EDA and mental effort in the second half of the study. This research supports that EDA can be used as a measure of mental effort and visually induced motion sickness for a single user performing scenario-based tasks.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2015
Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIM... more Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIMS), continues to affect the usability of this technology. Aside from medicine, physical hand-eye-coordination tasks have been found to be effective in mitigating symptoms of VIMS, however the need for equipment outside of virtual reality limits the usefulness of these mitigation techniques. In this study, 21 participants were sickened via a virtual obstacle course and used one of two mitigation techniques. The first, natural decay, is simply waiting outside the virtual environment (VE) for symptoms to subside; the other was a virtual peg-in-hole task, performed in the VE with a gamepad. A paired samples t-test confirmed that the virtual obstacle course induced VIMS. Both mitigation techniques significantly lessened the symptoms of VIMS, but there were no significant differences in the effectiveness of mitigation between the two techniques. A virtual mitigation method allowing continued i...
Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUB... more Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUBLISHED
International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2020
This work describes a combine harvester simulator and virtual environment (VE). This interactive ... more This work describes a combine harvester simulator and virtual environment (VE). This interactive and realistic simulator is a novel and unique apparatus used for development and testing of human-machine systems during the design of agricultural vehicles and systems. The combine simulator and VE are being used to develop and evaluate new technologies and automated systems. The simulator provides an innovative testing platform in which to conduct active harvesting experiments that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to perform. The successes of two studies, 'auger spout aiming' and 'combine implement adjust' are described, including experimental results. The novel approach used with this simulator to acquire the voice of the customer can be generalised to the development of other products with a human interface, and applications in other domains are considered.
Gaining insight into the unique characteristics of participants during user research is a valuabl... more Gaining insight into the unique characteristics of participants during user research is a valuable tool for both recruitment and understanding differences within the target population. This work describes an agricultural harvest knowledge survey that was created for user research studies that observed experienced combine operators driving a combine simulator in virtual crop fields. Two variations of the survey were designed, utilized, and evaluated in two separate studies. Both studies found a difference between low and high knowledge operators' performance on the knowledge survey in addition to performance differences. Based on the success of this survey as a population segmentation tool, the authors recommend three criteria for the design of future knowledge surveys in other domains: 1) use real world scenarios, 2) ensure question are neither too difficult nor too easy, and 3) ask the minimum number of questions to identify operator knowledge successfully. Future research aims to create a tool that can discern between system experts (with deep understanding of the system) and practice experts (who primarily have the wisdom of experience).
The practice of human factors in agriculture presents numerous challenges for the researcher. Di... more The practice of human factors in agriculture presents numerous challenges for the researcher. Difficulties include measuring operator behaviors in the agricultural field as well as identifying individual tasks, order of tasks, length of tasks, and operator motivation for each task. To confidently build a baseline for how operators use and appropriate their resources during the planting agricultural season, a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods were combined to create OCTA (operator-centered task analysis), a hybrid methodology to observe, document, explain, and potentially predict operator behaviors in the field. The OCTA model draws from four main methodologies: observation, interview, behavioral and interview coding, and task analysis. This work describes the development and implementation of OCTA, and how to replicate its use. While the OCTA methodology was developed in an agricultural context, it can be generalized for use with nearly any observable human-machine interaction system.
Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIM... more Virtual reality has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet visually induced motion sickness (VIMS), continues to affect the usability of this technology. Aside from medicine, physical hand-eye-coordination tasks have been found to be effective in mitigating symptoms of VIMS, however the need for equipment outside of virtual reality limits the usefulness of these mitigation techniques. In this study, 21 participants were sickened via a virtual obstacle course and used one of two mitigation techniques. The first, natural decay, is simply waiting outside the virtual environment (VE) for symptoms to subside; the other was a virtual peg-in-hole task, performed in the VE with a gamepad. A paired samples t-test confirmed that the virtual obstacle course induced VIMS. Both mitigation techniques significantly lessened the symptoms of VIMS, but there were no significant differences in the effectiveness of mitigation between the two techniques. A virtual mitigation method allowing continued immersion in a VE would pave the way for long-term immersion virtual reality studies, involving topics such as vigilance or training.
Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUB... more Brief guide on how to get up and running using EDA as a measure of mental effort or nausea. UNPUBLISHED
Conducting research within virtual environments poses unique challenges when trying to measure me... more Conducting research within virtual environments poses unique challenges when trying to measure mental effort and visually induced motion sickness. Determining how much mental effort an individual is exerting at any given point has historically been reserved for a human factors expert review and self-report such as NASA-TLX. When using an objective measure of mental effort via electrodermal activity (EDA), the subjective piece of this measure no longer carries the entire burden of proof. This research explores whether electrodermal activity (EDA) can be used as a successful indicator of mental effort for a single user in a controlled environment while performing scenario-based tasks. Additionally, EDA will be explored as a potential predictive measure of visually induced motion sickness within virtual environments. Two studies were conducted to contribute to this research. The first study observed 28 participants in a combine vehicle simulator and showed there is a decrease in EDA levels over time as familiarity with the system increases. The second study included 57 participants who navigated a visually disruptive virtual maze using a 3D head-mounted display. This study demonstrated a positive correlation between EDA and reported sickness in the first half of the study and a positive correlation between EDA and mental effort in the second half of the study. This research supports that EDA can be used as a measure of mental effort and visually induced motion sickness for a single user performing scenario-based tasks.
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