The effects of different viewing conditions on performance in simulated minimal access surgery

This study aimed to assess performance in simulated minimal access surgery (MAS) tasks under a range of viewing conditions. MAS conventionally uses 2d viewing systems which produce a flat image. However, 3d viewing systems which produce stereoscopic depth information should in principle lead to better depth perception, and improve performance on tasks which require appropriate spatial representation of layout and depth. The study compared a novel 3d viewing system with a state of the art 2d viewing system and a direct viewing condition ('open surgery') as a point of reference. Tasks included pulling and cutting of threads using standard surgical instruments. Medical students (n = 16) were allocated to viewing conditions according to a Latin square and carried out 120 tasks each. Assessment was by means of a 3d movement tracking device providing a number of performance parameters (time on task, velocity, number of movements, distance travelled). In addition instrument movement was video-recorded and analysed by four observers to validate the tracking device. Results from tracking data and observer data were highly correlated (r > 0.85). While open surgery naturally scored highest, the key finding was the clearly superior performance in the 3d condition compared to 2d. Thus modern 3d viewing systems can improve performance in a realistic task.     

Selective rendering for efficient ray traced stereoscopic images

Depth-related visual effects are a key feature of many virtual environments. In stereo-based systems, the depth effect can be produced by delivering frames of disparate image pairs, while in monocular environments, the viewer has to extract this depth information from a single image by examining details such as perspective and shadows. This paper investigates via a number of psychophysical experiments, whether we can reduce computational effort and still achieve perceptually high-quality rendering for stereo imagery. We examined selectively rendering the image pairs by exploiting the fusing capability and depth perception underlying human stereo vision. In ray-tracing-based global illumination systems, a higher image resolution introduces more computation to the rendering process since many more rays need to be traced. We first investigated whether we could utilise the human binocular fusing ability and significantly reduce the resolution of one of the image pairs and yet retain a high perceptual quality under stereo viewing condition. Secondly, we evaluated subjects’ performance on a specific visual task that required accurate depth perception. We found that subjects required far fewer rendered depth cues in the stereo viewing environment to perform the task well. Avoiding rendering these detailed cues saved significant computational time. In fact it was possible to achieve a better task performance in the stereo viewing condition at a combined rendering time for the image pairs less than that required for the single monocular image. The outcome of this study suggests that we can produce more efficient stereo images for depth-related visual tasks by selective rendering and exploiting inherent features of human stereo vision.     

The Effect of Color-Contrasting Shadows on a Dynamic 3-D Laparoscopic Surgical Task

Laparoscopic surgery is performed using long instruments that enter the abdomen through small incisions while viewing the workspace on a video monitor. Because of the viewing limitations that are inherent in the imaging system, depth perception is severely limited compared to direct viewing in open surgery. Previous studies have demonstrated that the addition of shadows can improve performance in tasks under laparoscopic conditions. This study examined the effect of color-contrasting shadows on performance in a depth-perception-dependent laparoscopic task. It was hypothesized that the added contrast of colored shadows would make them more pronounced on the dark-red background found in the body, thus improving performance. Twenty-four novice participants performed a dynamic pick-and-place task under three different lighting conditions on two differently colored backgrounds. Results showed that the presence of both colored and black shadows improved performance by 10% compared to no shadows, but the colored shadows did not provide a significant advantage over the black shadows.     

基于混合蚁群算法的MAS任务分配*

在MAS（多agent系统）中,由于任务的复杂性和agent求解问题能力的不同,任务和agent不再是传统的一对一的关系。为解决MAS的任务分配问题,提出了任务与agent之间多对多的任务分配模式。首先建立了任务分配的数学模型,并导出分配优化的目标函数;其次利用混合蚁群算法快速收敛和分布式求解的特点实现任务分配的组合优化。对实验仿真的结果分析表明,多对多的任务分配模式能够明显提升多agent系统的性能。     

Effect of disparity and viewing ambient illumination on stereoscopic viewing: An eye movement approach

Researchers have found that factors related to viewing content and viewing environment could influence viewers' stereoscopic viewing experiences. In this paper, the effect of both disparity and viewing ambient illumination condition on stereoscopic viewing was investigated by using an eye movement approach. The eye movement responses to random dot stereograms (RDS) stimuli in stereoscopic viewing were studied by performing a fusion range measurement experiment involving a judgment task. The fusion ranges under two ambient illumination conditions, eye movement responses to RDS stimuli and effects of disparity on eye movement parameters, were analyzed, respectively. The experimental results showed that fusion range under two ambient illumination conditions were different, and changes of eye movement parameters were different among various disparities when ambient illumination conditions varied. As a result, in order to improve viewers' viewing experiences when viewing different 3D contents, the arrangement of viewing ambient illumination conditions and the selection of disparity should be appropriately considered. The findings in this paper provide guidelines to reasonably arrange the viewing ambient illumination condition and efficiently produce healthy disparity in stereoscopic viewing.     

Effects of low stereo acuity on performance, presence and sickness within a virtual environment

To examine the effect of stereo vision on performance, presence and oculomotor disturbances within a virtual environment (VE), two groups of 23 participants (good stereo acuity/low stereo acuity) were evaluated. Groups were matched in terms of gender, age and VE design factors (the latter were accounted for to ensure a similar VE experience between groups). Participants were immersed in a VE maze for up to 1h during which time they interacted with the environment while performing a number of stationary and movement-based tasks. Individuals with low stereo acuity traveled further to complete two tasks in the VE, yet performance time on these tasks was comparable to participants with good stereo acuity. Although participants with impaired stereo vision likely did not fully benefit from a stereoscopic view of the scene, they may have received sufficient depth information from movement-based cues to efficiently accomplish these tasks in a comparable amount of time. Overall performance, based on both the number of tasks completed and the total translational distance moved (based on input device movement) within the VE was not hindered for those with low stereo acuity. In addition, the expected increase in oculomotor disturbances for this group was not evident in this study, and both groups reported comparable amounts of presence from VE exposure. These results suggest that when head tracking is included as part of the VE experience (i.e., motion parallax cues exist), participants with low stereo acuity can be expected to perform comparable to normal sighted individuals, experience a comparable sense of presence, and report no increase in adverse effects when viewing scenes via stereoscopic displays. Thus, motion parallax cues may adequately provide a sense of depth within a VE, and alleviate theorized performance decrements for individuals with low stereo acuity. The results of this study have implications for those designing entertainment simulations or other such applications open to the general public, where people with low stereo acuity may routinely participate.     

Effects of 2D wedge design as a wayfinding facilitator in a 3D virtual environment

The purpose of this study is to investigate users' wayfinding task performance and subjective preference in a three‐dimensional (3D) virtual environment. The research variables are interaction mode (touch sensitive vs body movement modes), viewing perspective [first‐person perspective (1PP) versus third‐person perspective (3PP)], and gender (man versus woman). Three difficult levels of tasks were conducted, i.e., A, A‐P, and A‐A types. The experiment is 2 × 2 × 2 between‐subject design. Participants needed to complete three wayfinding tasks and fill out subjective preference questionnaires regarding task fluency, satisfaction, system usability scale, and NASA Task Load Index (NASA‐TLX). Fifty‐six participants (28 men and 28 women) were invited using convenient sampling method. The results are as follows: (1) Participants adopting touch‐sensitive mode performed better than body movement mode. (2) Participants using touch‐sensitive mode could have better task fluency and higher SUS score, and with less effort and frustration. (3) Participants adopting 3PP had better wayfinding task performance than first‐person perspective. They also had higher system usability scale score and spent less effort for having wider viewing perspective. (4) The gender variable only showed significant effect in A‐P type of wayfinding task. Men performed better than women. It is concluded that adopting touch‐sensitive interaction and 3PP designs can better facilitate users' wayfinding tasks.     

An experimental study about the effect of interactions among functional factors in performance of telemanipulation systems

The complexity of telemanipulation systems has increased and thus there are a variety of elements and factors that affect the performance of these systems. An experimental study was done in this field to obtain information about the effect of several factors on the quality of tasks carried out by the system. Not only the effect of the factors has been considered but also the interactions among them. A taxonomy of functional factors was proposed to facilitate this study. The factors were divided into two principal groups: intrinsic and extrinsic factors. A factorial design was conducted with five factors: operator (with vs. without training), movement control (position vs. rate control), force feedback (kinesthetic vs. visual feedback), master bandwidth (high vs. low bandwidth) and task type (insertion vs. tracking movement). An open platform for experimentation with telerobotics systems (PLATERO) was developed to perform all the proposed experiments. Analyzed variables include completion time, SOSF (sum of squared forces), insertion forces and tracking error. Results show that there is a great deal of interaction between type of task and the other factors. This means that for each task there is a system configuration that obtains better performance. Another important finding shows that an expert operator is able to adapt to the different system configurations and obtain good results. However, a novice operator obtains better results with some factors than with others. Finally, in order to determine which system configuration obtains the highest task quality, the main task requirement must be defined, because the best system configuration depends on it.     

Touch a screen or turn a knob: choosing the best device for the job

Input devices enable users to interact with systems. In two experiments, we assessed whether and how task demands and user age influenced task performance for a direct input device (touch screen) and an indirect input device (rotary encoder). In Experiment 1, 40 younger (18-28 years) and 40 middle-aged to older adults (51-65 years) performed tasks using controls such as sliders, up/down buttons, list boxes, and text boxes while using a system. The optimal input device to facilitate performance was dependent on the task being performed and the age of the user. In Experiment 2, touch screen use was assessed for 20 younger (19-23 years) and 20 older adults (51-70 years). Task demands were manipulated through button size, movement distance, direction, and type of movement. Performance was moderated by the age of the user and by task demands. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance for the optimal selection of input devices for different user populations and task characteristics.     

Cooperative Multi-Agent Learning: The State of the Art

Cooperative multi-agent systems (MAS) are ones in which several agents attempt, through their interaction, to jointly solve tasks or to maximize utility. Due to the interactions among the agents, multi-agent problem complexity can rise rapidly with the number of agents or their behavioral sophistication. The challenge this presents to the task of programming solutions to MAS problems has spawned increasing interest in machine learning techniques to automate the search and optimization process. We provide a broad survey of the cooperative multi-agent learning literature. Previous surveys of this area have largely focused on issues common to specific subareas (for example, reinforcement learning, RL or robotics). In this survey we attempt to draw from multi-agent learning work in a spectrum of areas, including RL, evolutionary computation, game theory, complex systems, agent modeling, and robotics. We find that this broad view leads to a division of the work into two categories, each with its own special issues: applying a single learner to discover joint solutions to multi-agent problems (team learning), or using multiple simultaneous learners, often one per agent (concurrent learning). Additionally, we discuss direct and indirect communication in connection with learning, plus open issues in task decomposition, scalability, and adaptive dynamics. We conclude with a presentation of multi-agent learning problem domains, and a list of multi-agent learning resources.     

Task and user effects on reading patterns in information search

We report on an investigation into people’s behaviors on information search tasks, specifically the relation between eye movement patterns and task characteristics. We conducted two independent user studies (n = 32 and n = 40), one with journalism tasks and the other with genomics tasks. The tasks were constructed to represent information needs of these two different users groups and to vary in several dimensions according to a task classification scheme. For each participant we classified eye gaze data to construct models of their reading patterns. The reading models were analyzed with respect to the effect of task types and Web page types on reading eye movement patterns. We report on relationships between tasks and individual reading behaviors at the task and page level. Specifically we show that transitions between scanning and reading behavior in eye movement patterns and the amount of text processed may be an implicit indicator of the current task type facets. This may be useful in building user and task models that can be useful in personalization of information systems and so address design demands driven by increasingly complex user actions with information systems. One of the contributions of this research is a new methodology to model information search behavior and investigate information acquisition and cognitive processing in interactive information tasks.     

Characterization of crosstalk in stereoscopic display devices

Many different types of stereoscopic display devices are used for commercial and research applications. Stereoscopic displays offer the potential to improve performance in detection tasks for medical imaging diagnostic systems. Due to the variety of stereoscopic display technologies, it remains unclear how these compare with each other for detection and estimation tasks. Different stereo devices have different performance trade‐offs due to their display characteristics. Among them, crosstalk is known to affect observer perception of 3D content and might affect detection performance. We measured and report the detailed luminance output and crosstalk characteristics for three different types of stereoscopic display devices. We recorded the effect of other issues on recorded luminance profiles such as viewing angle, use of different eye wear, and screen location. Our results show that the crosstalk signature for viewing 3D content can vary considerably when using different types of 3D glasses for active stereo displays. We also show that significant differences are present in crosstalk signatures when varying the viewing angle from 0 degrees to 20 degrees for a stereo mirror 3D display device. Our detailed characterization can help emulate the effect of crosstalk in conducting computational observer image quality assessment evaluations that minimize costly and time‐consuming human reader studies.     

Multi-modal information processing for visual workload relief

Subjects simultaneously performed two single-dimensional compensatory tracking tasks, one with the left hand and one with the right hand. The tracking performed with the left hand was considered the primary task and was performed with a visual display or a quickened kinaesthetic-tactual(KT) display. The right-handed tracking was considered the secondary task and was carried out only with a visual display. Although the two primary task displays had afforded equivalent performance in a critical tracking task performed alone, in the dual-task situation the quickened KT primary display resulted in superior secondary visual task performance. Comparisons of various combinations of primary and secondary visual displays in integrated or separated formats indicated that the superiority of the quickened KT display was not simply due to the elimination of visual scanning. In an additional condition, a quickened signal obtained from an off-line KT display was used to drive a primary visual display. Performance was equivalent to previous dual visual task situations, indicating that quickening per se also was not the immediate cause of the observed KT superiority. Results are discussed in terms of S-R compatibility differences, competition for modality-dependent processing resources, task discriminability, and the role of sensory buffers in maintaining multi-task frames of reference under conditions of shifting attention.     

Can movement parallax compensate lacking stereopsis in spatial explorative search tasks?

In an explorative task subjects were asked to track a line presented in combination with other confusing lines on a 3D display. 24 subjects performed the explorative task under three depth cue conditions which were: stereopsis, movement parallax or a combination of stereopsis and movement parallax (stereo and parallax).

Task performance was assessed by recording completion time and correctness of answer.

The combination of stereopsis and movement parallax gave rise to highest percentage of correct answers (84%), followed by the condition where movement parallax was the only depth cue (80%). Percentage of correct answers in both conditions was found to be significantly higher than it was in the condition with stereopsis (60%).

Mean completion time was about the same in the stereo and parallax condition and the stereopsis condition. Compared to the movement parallax condition both means were significantly decreased.

Accuracy in completing the task was found to be similar in 3D displays enabling movement parallax and in 3D displays presenting stereoscopic images.     

Time-on-task period for unimpaired tracking performance

Previous studies reported 30min as a time-on-task period for unimpaired human mental performance. Recently this author observed 25 min on task as a period for unimpaired compensatory tracking performance (Beshir et at. 1981). The purpose of this study is to utilize a pursuit tracking task in order to determine the time-on-task period for unimpaired tracking performance

Six male college students participated as subjects in this study. Each performed a pursuit tracking task in addition to two other perceptual motor tasks under four different air temperature levels: 18·3, 21·1, 23·3, and 25·6°C dry-bulb temperature (65, 70, 74 and 78°F)

The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the results showed highly significant effects at the 1% level for both the time-on-task and the air temperature on the pursuit tracking performance. An increase in time-on-task resulted in deterioration of the pursuit tracking performance. Significant deterioration in pursuit tracking performance was observed after 15 min on task

From the results of the present study and the study by Beshir et al. (1981), it can be concluded that the time-on-task period for unimpaired tracking performance varies between 15 and 25 min. The higher the required task demands, the shorter will be the time-on-task period for unimpaired tracking performance. Finally, from the findings of these experiments, it is recommended that for workers performing tracking as a primary task, the effects of time-on-task on their performance can be eliminated if they participate in other tasks during their working session.     

Stereoscopic 3D displays and human performance: A comprehensive review

To answer the question: “what is 3D good for?” we reviewed the body of literature concerning the performance implications of stereoscopic 3D (S3D) displays versus non-stereo (2D or monoscopic) displays. We summarized results of over 160 publications describing over 180 experiments spanning 51 years of research in various fields including human factors psychology/engineering, human–computer interaction, vision science, visualization, and medicine. Publications were included if they described at least one task with a performance-based experimental evaluation of an S3D display versus a non-stereo display under comparable viewing conditions. We classified each study according to the experimental task(s) of primary interest: (a) judgments of positions and/or distances; (b) finding, identifying, or classifying objects; (c) spatial manipulations of real or virtual objects; (d) navigation; (e) spatial understanding, memory, or recall and (f) learning, training, or planning. We found that S3D display viewing improved performance over traditional non-stereo (2D) displays in 60% of the reported experiments. In 15% of the experiments, S3D either showed a marginal benefit or the results were mixed or unclear. In 25% of experiments, S3D displays offered no benefit over non-stereo 2D viewing (and in some rare cases, harmed performance). From this review, stereoscopic 3D displays were found to be most useful for tasks involving the manipulation of objects and for finding/identifying/classifying objects or imagery. We examine instances where S3D did not support superior task performance. We discuss the implications of our findings with regard to various fields of research concerning stereoscopic displays within the context of the investigated tasks.     

Factors affecting performance on a target monitoring task employing an automatic tracker

The experiments in this paper examined the extent to which performance on a task employing an automatic tracker was similar to performance on tasks employing other types of automation that have been studied more extensively. Automated target tracking is being used in many sensor and navigation systems to improve performance and help the operator cope with increased data loads. With many automated systems these goals are not met. In particular, the operator often misses errors made by the automated system and may report no decrease in workload. Several hypotheses have been offered for the operator's failure to monitor an automated system adequately. These include lack of experience with the manual task, a vigilance decrement, complacency, and inappropriate level of automation. The relevance of each of these hypotheses to failure to monitor an automatic tracker adequately was examined. Performance and perceived workload on a target tracking task employing an automatic tracker, in which participants had to detect and then update the position of several targets (e.g. ships) at regular intervals, were measured as a function of number of targets, training with the manual task, experience, and time on task. The results suggested that failure to detect errors made by the automated system was due largely to the lack of visibility of the automation errors relative to other errors. However, complacency could not be ruled out entirely. Unlike some other tasks, the availability of a reliable automatic tracker did lead to a substantial reduction in perceived workload.     

Too good to be bad: Favorable product expectations boost subjective usability ratings

In an experiment conducted to study the effects of product expectations on subjective usability ratings, participants (N = 36) read a positive or a negative product review for a novel mobile device before a usability test, while the control group read nothing. In the test, half of the users performed easy tasks, and the other half hard ones, with the device. A standard usability test procedure was utilized in which objective task performance measurements as well as subjective post-task and post-experiment usability questionnaires were deployed. The study revealed a surprisingly strong effect of positive expectations on subjective post-experiment ratings: the participants who had read the positive review gave the device significantly better post-experiment ratings than did the negative-prime and no-prime groups. This boosting effect of the positive prime held even in the hard task condition where the users failed in most of the tasks. This finding highlights the importance of understanding: (1) what kinds of product expectations participants bring with them to the test, (2) how well these expectations represent those of the intended user population, and (3) how the test situation itself influences and may bias these expectations.     

Providing synthetic views for teleoperation using visual posetracking in multiple cameras

This paper describes a visual tool for teleoperative experimentation involving remote manipulation and contact tasks. Using modest hardware, it recovers in real time the pose of moving polyhedral objects, and presents a synthetic view of the scene to the operator of a teleoperated robot using any chosen viewpoint and viewing direction. To recover pose, the method of line tracking first introduced by Harris (1992) is extended to multiple calibrated cameras, and its dynamic performance improved using robust methods and iterative filtering. Experiments are reported which determine the static and dynamic performance of the vision system, and its use in teleoperation is illustrated in two experiments, a peg-in-hole manipulation task and an impact control task