Human–machine collaboration through vehicle head up display interface

This work introduces a novel design for an automotive full-windshield head-up display (HUD) interface which aims to improve the driver’s spatial awareness and response times under low visibility conditions. To fulfil these requirements, we have designed and implemented a working prototype of a human–machine interface (HMI). Particular emphasis was placed on the prioritisation and effective presentation of information available through vehicular sensors, which would assist, without distracting, the driver in successfully navigating the vehicle under low visibility conditions. The proposed interface is based on minimalist visual representations of real objects to offer a new form of interactive guidance for motorway environments. Overall, this work discusses the design challenges of such a human–machine system, elaborates on the interface design philosophy and presents the outcome of user trials that contrasted the effectiveness of our proposed HUD against a typical head-down display (HDD).     

Soft computing framework for intelligent human–machine system design,simulation and optimization

 This paper proposes a novel soft-computing framework for human–machine system design and simulation based on the hybrid intelligent system techniques. The complex human–machine system is described by human and machine parameters within a comprehensive model. Based on this model, procedures and algorithms for human–machine system design, economical/ergonomic evaluation, and optimization are discussed in an integrated CAD and soft-computing framework. With a combination of individual neural and fuzzy techniques, the neuro-fuzzy hybrid soft-computing scheme implements a fuzzy if-then rules block for human–machine system design, evaluation and optimization by a trainable neural fuzzy network architecture. For training and test purposes, assembly tasks are simulated and carried out on a self-built multi-adjustable laboratory workstation with a flexible motion measurement and analysis system. The trained neural fuzzy network system is able to predict the operator's postures and joint angles of motion associated with a range of workstation configurations. It can also be used for design/layout and adjustment of human assembly workstations. The developed system provides a unified, intelligent computational framework for human–machine system design and simulation. Case studies for workstation system design and simulation are provided to illustrate and validate the developed system.     

Traffic systems as joint cognitive systems: issues to be solved for realizing human-technology coagency

This paper discusses a couple of issues that are at the center of discussions in the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and their effects from the viewpoints of the joint cognitive systems. The first is the issue of authority and responsibility. It is argued that machine may be given authority to improve safety and to alleviate possible damages, even in the framework of human-centered automation. The second is the issue of the overtrust in and overreliance on ADAS, in which it is argued that possibilities and types of overtrust or overreliance may vary depending on characteristics of ADAS. The importance of the design of human–machine interface and human–machine interactions is included in the discussions.     

Easy doesn’t do it: skill and expression in tangible aesthetics

In this paper, we articulate the role of movement within a perceptual-motor view of tangible interaction. We argue that the history of human–product interaction design has exhibited an increasing neglect of the intrinsic importance of movement. On one hand, human–product interaction design has shown little appreciation in practice of the centrality of our bodily engagement in the world. This has resulted in technologies that continue to place demands on our cognitive abilities, and deny us the opportunity of building bodily skill. On the other hand, the potential for movement in products to be a meaningful component of our interaction with them has also been ignored. Both of these directions (design for bodily engagement and the expressiveness of product movements) are sketched out, paying particular respect for their potential to impact both interaction aesthetics and usability. We illustrate a number of these ideas with examples.     

Human Factors in the Design of Supervisory Control Systems and Human–Machine Interfaces for Highly Automated Complex Systems

The design of control systems and human–machine interfaces in the field of complex and safety-critical environments remains today an open issue, in spite of the high technological evolution of the last decades. The increasing use of automation has improved efficiency, safety and ease of operations but, at the same time, it has complicated operators’ situation awareness and has changed the nature of their possible errors. The research activity described in this paper is an attempt to develop a methodological framework to support designers of control systems and human–machine interfaces. In particular, it focuses on the need for a deeply recursive approach related to the implementation of the systemic and human aspects of the design process of a human–machine system, intended as a Joint Cognitive System. A validating case study has been performed, based on the full application of the framework on the control of the turbine/alternator system of a thermoelectric power plant in northern Italy. Correspondence and offprint requests to: M. Piccini, Politecnico di Torino Dipartimento di Energetica, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy. Tel.: +39 011 564 4413; Fax: +39 011 564 4499; Email: mipiccin@polito.it     

Ergonomic evaluation of the angle of abduction in a computer numerically controlled electro discharge machine environment

Dynamic situations are not fully controlled and affected by uncertain human factors. Anthropometric considerations are important in the design of systems. Present research work have considered the ‘angle of abduction’, whose effect on operator’s performance has been ergonomically evaluated in a CNC-EDM environment. In this work, the experimental data are analyzed through an ANOVA using SPSS statistical software. The result indicates that the angle of abduction significantly affects the operator’s performance in a CNC-EDM interaction environment. Further analysis revealed that a 45 degree abduction angle gives the optimal performance as far as a human–machine interaction environment is concerned.     

Reduced uncertainty through human communication in complex environments

This paper describes and analyzes the central role of human–human communication in a dynamic, high-risk environment. The empirical example is a UN peace-enforcing and peace-keeping operation where uncertainty about the situation in the environment and about the own organization’s capability was intertwined, requiring extensive control activities and, hence, special attention to communication between humans. Theoretically, focus lays on what efficient communication means, how to understand and use social relations, and use technology when making socio-technical systems also cooperative systems. We conclude that “control” largely is based on the ability to communicate and that efficient human–human communication is grounded in relations between individuals, which preferably should be based on physical meetings. Uncertainty, and how humans cope with it through interpersonal communication, is exemplified and discussed. In theoretical terms, relating the study to systems science and its application in organizational life and cognitive engineering, the case illustrates that an organization is not only an economy but also an adaptive social structure. But neither cognition nor control is an end state. The organization’s raison d’être in this kind of operation is cooperation rather than confrontation. Its use of force is strictly regulated by Rules of Engagement (ROE). In the organization, strong emotions may govern, interpersonal trust can be established and rule-sets for further cooperation established. Without considering the power of such aspects, economical rationality and detached cognitive thinking may end up in perfect, but less relevant, support technologies where people act in roles rather than as wholes.     

Formally verifying human–automation interaction as part of a system model: limitations and tradeoffs

Both the human factors engineering (HFE) and formal methods communities are concerned with improving the design of safety-critical systems. This work discusses a modeling effort that leveraged methods from both fields to perform formal verification of human–automation interaction with a programmable device. This effort utilizes a system architecture composed of independent models of the human mission, human task behavior, human-device interface, device automation, and operational environment. The goals of this architecture were to allow HFE practitioners to perform formal verifications of realistic systems that depend on human–automation interaction in a reasonable amount of time using representative models, intuitive modeling constructs, and decoupled models of system components that could be easily changed to support multiple analyses. This framework was instantiated using a patient controlled analgesia pump in a two phased process where models in each phase were verified using a common set of specifications. The first phase focused on the mission, human-device interface, and device automation; and included a simple, unconstrained human task behavior model. The second phase replaced the unconstrained task model with one representing normative pump programming behavior. Because models produced in the first phase were too large for the model checker to verify, a number of model revisions were undertaken that affected the goals of the effort. While the use of human task behavior models in the second phase helped mitigate model complexity, verification time increased. Additional modeling tools and technological developments are necessary for model checking to become a more usable technique for HFE.     

Emotional empathy transition patterns from human brain responses in interactive communication situations

The paper reports our research aiming at utilization of human interactive communication modeling principles in application to a novel interaction paradigm designed for brain–computer/machine-interfacing (BCI/BMI) technologies as well as for socially aware intelligent environments or communication support systems. Automatic procedures for human affective responses or emotional states estimation are still a hot topic of contemporary research. We propose to utilize human brain and bodily physiological responses for affective/emotional as well as communicative interactivity estimation, which potentially could be used in the future for human–machine/environment interaction design. As a test platform for such an intelligent human–machine communication application, an emotional stimuli paradigm was chosen to evaluate brain responses to various affective stimuli in an emotional empathy mode. Videos with moving faces expressing various emotional displays as well as speech stimuli with similarly emotionally articulated sentences are presented to the subjects in order to further analyze different affective responses. From information processing point of view, several challenges with multimodal signal conditioning and stimuli dynamic response extraction in time frequency domain are addressed. Emotions play an important role in human daily life and human-to-human communication. This is why involvement of affective stimuli principles to human–machine communication or machine-mediated communication with utilization of multichannel neurophysiological and periphery physiological signals monitoring techniques, allowing real-time subjective brain responses evaluation, is discussed. We present our preliminary results and discuss potential applications of brain/body affective responses estimation for future interactive/smart environments.     

Design for older and disabled people – where do we go from here?

The significant changes in the social, legal, demographic, and economic landscape over the past 10–15 years present enormous opportunities for the human–computer interface design community. These changes will have a significant impact on the design and development of systems for older and disabled people. This paper brings together a number of proposals to improve both specialist and mainstream design methods in the field as a contribution to the debate about design for older and disabled people and the concept of universal usability. Published online: 6 November 2002     

Putting ‘felt-life’ at the centre of human–computer interaction (HCI)

In this article, we argue that putting felt-life, that is life as lived, sensed and experienced, at the centre of human–computer interaction (HCI) both focuses attention on the sensual and emotional and throws new light on the cognitive and intellectual aspects of people’s interactions with technology. As a consequence, it offers an opportunity to address issues such as resistance, identity, and attachment that are not otherwise addressed in HCI. Some of the analytic and empirical possibilities for addressing issues such as these are described, and the methodological requirement for local, context-rich research discussed. Finally, the opportunity that a felt-life approach opens up to raise critically reflective questions about technology and self is discussed. In this context, a framework for exploring interaction by placing technologies and activities in relation to each other on felt-life dimensions, such as interpassive–interactive and mutual-one-sided, is exemplified. The framework is used here to address design and evaluation questions that relate to self and agency in human computer interactions. This article is a revised version of a paper originally presented at ECCE’12, the conference of the European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics, held in York, UK in 2004.     

Intelligent Human-Machine Interaction Based on Dynamic Bayesian Networks Probabilistic Intention Recognition

In this article, a novel human–machine interaction based on the machine intention recognition of the human is presented. This work is motivated by the desire that intelligent machines as robots imitate human–human interaction, that is to minimize the need for classical direct human–machine interface and communication. A philosophical and technical background for intention recognition is discussed. Here, the intention–action–state scenario is modified and modeled by Dynamic Bayesian Networks to facilitate for probabilistic intention inference. The recognized intention, then, drives the interactive behavior of the machine such that it complies with the human intention in light of the real state of the world. An illustrative example of a human commanding a mobile robot remotely is given and discussed in details.     

Experience with user-centred requirements engineering

This paper describes the application of human–computer interaction (HCI) principles and methods to requirements engineering in a case study development of a visualisation tool, ADVISES, to support epidemiological research. The development approach consisted of scenario-based design and analysis of the users’ tasks and mental model of the domain. Prototyping and storyboarding techniques were used to explore design options with users as well as specifying functionality for two versions of the software to meet the needs of novice and expert users. Application of HCI functional allocation heuristics to guide system requirements decisions is explained. An evaluation of the prototype was carried out to assess the extent to which the expert model would support public health professionals in their analysis activities. The results of the design exploration requirements analysis study are reported. The implications of scenario-based design exploration, functional allocation and software architecture are discussed.     

MABA-MABA or Abracadabra? Progress on Human–Automation Co-ordination

In this paper we argue that substitution-based function allocation methods (such as MABA-MABA, or Men-Are-Better-At/Machines-Are-Better-At lists) cannot provide progress on human–automation co-ordination. Quantitative ‘who does what’ allocation does not work because the real effects of automation are qualitative: it transforms human practice and forces people to adapt their skills and routines. Rather than re-inventing or refining substitution-based methods, we propose that the more pressing question on human–automation co-ordination is ‘How do we make them get along together?’ Correspondence and offprint requests to: S. W. A. Dekker, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IKP, Link?ping Institute of Technology, SE - 581 83 Link?ping, Sweden. Tel.: +46 13 281646; fax +4613282579; email: sidde@ikp.liu.se     

Force modeling for tooth preparation in a dental training system

Feedback force is very important for novices to simulate tooth preparation by using the haptic interaction system (dental training system) in a virtual environment. In the process of haptic simulation, the fidelity of generated forces by a haptic device decides whether the simulation is successful. A force model computes feedback force, and we present an analytical force model to compute the force between a tooth and a dental pin during tooth preparation. The force between a tooth and a dental pin is modeled in two parts: (1) force to resist human’s operation and (2) friction to resist the rotation of the dental engine. The force to resist the human’s operation is divided into three parts in the coordinates that are constructed on the bottom center of the dental pin. In addition, we also consider the effects of dental-pin type, tooth stiffness, and contact geometry in the force model. To determine the parameters of the force model, we construct a measuring system by using machine vision and a force/torque sensor to track the human’s operations and measure the forces between the dental pins and teeth. Based on the measuring results, we construct the relation between the force and the human’s operation. The force model is implemented in the prototype of a dental training system that uses the Phantom as the haptic interface. Dentists performing virtual operations have confirmed the fidelity of feedback force.     

Mobility as involvement: on the role of involvement in the design of mobile support systems for industrial application

Traditional human–computer interaction (HCI) allowed researchers and practitioners to share and rely on the ‘five E’s’ of usability, the principle that interactive systems should be designed to be effective, efficient, engaging, error tolerant, and easy to learn. A recent trend in HCI, however, is that academic researchers as well as practitioners are becoming increasingly interested in user experiences, i.e., understanding and designing for relationships between users and artifacts that are for instance affective, engaging, fun, playable, sociable, creative, involving, meaningful, exciting, ambiguous, and curious. In this paper, it is argued that built into this shift in perspective there is a concurrent shift in accountability that is drawing attention to a number of ethical, moral, social, cultural, and political issues that have been traditionally de-emphasized in a field of research guided by usability concerns. Not surprisingly, this shift in accountability has also received scarce attention in HCI. To be able to find any answers to the question of what makes a good user experience, the field of HCI needs to develop a philosophy of technology. One building block for such a philosophy of technology in HCI is presented. Albert Borgmann argues that we need to be cautious and rethink the relationship as well as the often-assumed correspondence between what we consider useful and what we think of as good in technology. This junction—that some technologies may be both useful and good, while some technologies that are useful for some purposes might also be harmful, less good, in a broader context—is at the heart of Borgmann’s understanding of technology. Borgmann’s notion of the device paradigm is a valuable contribution to HCI as it points out that we are increasingly experiencing the world with, through, and by information technologies and that most of these technologies tend to be designed to provide commodities that effortlessly grant our wishes without demanding anything in return, such as patience, skills, or effort. This paper argues that Borgmann’s work is relevant and makes a valuable contribution to HCI in at least two ways: first, as a different way of seeing that raises important social, cultural, ethical, and moral issues from which contemporary HCI cannot escape; and second, as providing guidance as to how specific values might be incorporated into the design of interactive systems that foster engagement with reality.     

Effects of etiquette strategy on human–robot interaction in a simulated medicine delivery task

The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which a model of linguistic etiquette in human–human interaction could be applied to human–robot interaction (HRI) domain, and how different etiquette strategies proposed through the model might influence performance of humans and robots as mediated by manipulations of robot physical features, in a simulated medicine delivery task. A “wizard of Oz” experiment was conducted in which either a humanoid robot or a mechanical-looking robot was used to present medicine reminding utterances (following different etiquette strategies) to participants, who were engaged in a primary cognitive task (a Sudoku puzzle). Results revealed the etiquette model to partially extend to the HRI domain. Participants were not sensitive to positive language from robots (e.g., appreciation of human values/wants) and such a strategy did not succeed in supporting or enhancing the “positive face” of human users. Both “bald” (no linguistic courtesy) and mixed strategies (positive and “negative face” (minimizing user imposition) saving) resulted in moderate user perceived etiquette scores (PE). However, individual differences suggested such robot linguistic strategies should be applied with caution. Opposite to this, a negative face saving strategy (supporting user freedom of choice) promoted user task and robot performance (in terms of user response time to robot requests), and resulted in the highest PE score. There was also evidence that humanoid robot features provide additional social cues that may be used by patients and support human and robot performance, but not PE. These results provide a basis for determining appropriate etiquette strategies and robot appearance to promote better collaborative task performances for future health care delivery applications of service robots.     

A shared workspace to support man–machine reasoning: application to cooperative distant diagnosis

This paper focuses on man–machine cooperation problems. In particular, it deals with those problems that occur when both human and machine have to achieve a shared reasoning activity. It puts forward a man–machine approach that is dedicated to technical diagnosis problem solving. Coordination of human and automated reasoning is key to solving this problem, since efficiency depends on both sharing and interpreting exchanged data. A shared workspace is proposed to support both machines and their human operators. This workspace is kept as close as possible to human representations in order to reduce cooperation costs. The paper describes those coordination mechanisms that are able to support such a cooperative activity using a shared workspace. In order to assess the costs and benefits of such cooperation, these mechanisms are applied to a complex industrial problem: diagnosis and troubleshooting in a phone network. The results show the full impact of cooperation on human–machine reasoning.