Human factors and ergonomics

Scholars argue about the role played by surprise in making new products creative. Different perspectives evaluate surprise as a nuance of novelty, an independent dimension, or an emotional reaction to new products. The paper proposes a framework of factors supposedly characterizing the emergence of surprise in terms of individuals' interpretations and/or modifications of products' behavior and structure. Moreover, it illustrates the outcomes of a preliminary empirical investigation about the manifestation of unexpectedness according to such a framework: the proposed factors have been checked by interpreting the motivations leading to the presence of surprise in 12 new lamps described in the literature. The experiment states the reasonability of the described factors and, as a consequence, the paper provides a contribution to better articulate the debate in the research arena.

Keywords: Creativity , Diversity , Emotion , Novelty , Surprise

Skin appearance is almost universally the object of gender-related expectations and stereotypes. This not with standing, remarkably little work has been done on establishing quantitatively whether skin texture can be used for gender discrimination. We present a detailed analysis of the skin texture of 43 subjects based on two complementary imaging modalities afforded by a visible-light dermoscope and the recently developed Epsilon sensor for capacitive imaging. We consider an array of established texture features in combination with two supervised classification techniques (1-NN and SVM) and a state-of-the-art unsupervised approach (t-SNE). A statistical analysis of the results suggests that skin microtexture carries very little information on gender.

Keywords: Gender recognition , Skin , SVM , Texture

The paper deals with prototyping strategies aimed at supporting engineers in the design of the multisensory experience of products. It is widely recognised that the most effective strategy to design it is to create working prototypes and analyse user's reactions when interacting with them. Starting from this consciousness, we will discuss of how virtual reality (VR) technologies can support engineers to build prototypes suitable to this aim. Furthermore we will demonstrate how VR-based prototypes do not only represent a valid alternative to physical prototypes, but also a step forward thanks to the possibility of simulating and rendering multisensory and real-time modifiable interactions between the user and the prototype. These characteristics of VR-based prototypes enable engineers to rapidly test with users different variants and to optimise the multisensory experience perceived by them during the interaction. The discussion is supported both by examples available in literature and by case studies we have developed over the years on this topic. Specifically, in our research we have concentrated on what happens in the physical contact between the user and the product. Such contact strongly influences the user's impression about the product.

Keywords: Experience design , Interaction design , User experience , Virtual-mixed prototyping

The i.Drive Lab has developed inter-disciplinary methodology for the analysis and modelling of behavioral and physiological responses related to the interaction between driver, vehicle, infrastructure, and virtual environment. The present research outlines the development of a validation study for the combination of virtual and real-life research methodologies. i.Drive driving simulator was set up to replicate the data acquisition of environmental and physiological information coming from an equipped i.Drive electric vehicle with same sensors. i.Drive tests are focused on the identification of driver's affective states that are able to define recurring situations and psychophysical conditions that are relevant for road-safety and drivers' comfort. Results show that it is possible to combine different research paradigms to collect low-level vehicle control behavior and higher-level cognitive measures, in order to develop data collection and elaboration for future mobility challenges.

Keywords: driving assessment , on-road tests , physiological measures , test vehicle , virtual reality simulator

This demonstration offers the opportunity to explore a multisensory digital interface as part of the wider research project 'Mapping Memory Routes: Eliciting Culturally Diverse Memes for Digital Archives'. The interface is conceived as a tool for capturing memes rooted in the rich intangible heritage of culturally diverse communities in London, opening up a space for intercultural exchange to be used in meaningful urban design. Based on a model developed by artist and researcher Alda Terracciano for her multisensory installation 'Streets of...7 cities in 7 minutes', the interface is used to explore new design methods to elicit cultural memories through the use of multisensory technology. The tool aims to stimulate collective curatorial practices aimed at democratising decision-making processes in critical heritage studies and urban planning.

Keywords: Community curation , Critical heritage studies , Design research , Multisensory interface design , Sensorial mapping , Sensorial urbanism , Urban planning

Books are the tools used for reading novels and stories, but also for educational purposes. Conventional books have undergone a radical transformation in recent years due to the use of new technologies. However, even today the technological devices used for reading e-books are still poorly exploited, despite the fact that they represent a fundamental tool to make the reading experience more immersive by using a complete multisensory approach. In this perspective, one sense that represents an important element of human perception is the sense of smell. Consequently, authors make the hypothesis that the introduction of odours during reading sessions could increase the user experience and the learning performances. In order to demonstrate these hypotheses, the authors have defined and carried out several experimental testing sessions. The analysis of the collected data proved that the introduction of odour does not disturb the reader during reading activities but, on the contrary, can actually make the experience more immersive. Similarly, odours do not disturb studying activities, but they can instead increase the level of concentration and people's learning performance.

Keywords: Augmented reality , Multisensory environment , Olfactory technologies , User experience

The advancement of in-vehicle technology for driving safety has considerably improved. Current Advanced Driver- Assistance Systems (ADAS) make road safer by alerting the driver, through visual, auditory, and haptic signals about dangerous driving situations, and consequently, preventing possible collisions. However, in some circumstances the driver can fail to properly respond to the alert since human cognition systems can be influenced by the driving context. Driving simulation can help evaluating this aspect since it is possible to reproduce different ADAS in safe driving conditions. However, driving simulation alone does not provide information about how the change in driver's workload affects the interaction of the driver with ADAS. This paper presents a driving simulator system integrating physiological sensors that acquire heart's activity, blood volume pulse, respiration rate, and skin conductance parameters. Through a specific processing of these measurements, it is possible to measure different cognitive processes that contribute to the change of driver's workload while using ADAS, in different driving contexts. The preliminary studies conducted in this research show the effectiveness of this system and provide guidelines for the future acquisition and the treatment of the physiological data to assess ADAS workload.

The very rapid evolution of digital technologies and the "Internet of Things" phenomenon are today some of the most important issues that product designers have to face. Consequently, today designers need to understand and manage these new technologies in order to exploit their potential into innovative products. Therefore, it is recommendable that designers focus their activities on the design of the meaning and on the user interaction of products, in order to create smart products that are easy-to-use and enjoyable. In order to address all these issues, the authors set up an experimental workshop in which students with different backgrounds in design-related disciplines were asked to collaborate to the design of a domestic product that allows new tangible interaction with live-data streams. In addition, students were asked to develop the functioning prototype of their design solution, by using rapid prototyping and physical computing techniques. The students were able to develop working prototypes of products that are capable of communicating information derived from real-time data streams. Some of the most representative results of this workshop are presented in the paper.

Keywords: 3D printing , Design education , User centred design

In this paper we describe the design of a smart alarm clock, conceived as a persuasive system to foster a sustainable urban mobility. Automatically retrieving and elaborating information available on the web, such as means of transport and weather forecast, the device is able to suggest to the user the most sustainable travelling solution, to help him/her to wake-up and reach the destination on time. Following a user-centered design approach the elaboration of the best travelling solution takes also into account, together with his/her next day appointments, user's needs and habits such as: The time he/she needs to get ready in the morning; his/her travelling preferences. A functional prototype has been built to test the effectiveness of the device using as a context the city of Milan.

Keywords: Design for sustainable behaviour , Multisensory product experience , Smart mobility , Sustainability , User centred design

In this chapter we will describe the characteristics of the developed system in terms of: performances, modularity, portability and implementation costs. In order to perform an accurate analysis of the rendered trajectory and of the usability of the system we will describe the user tests performed and we will analyse their results.

In order to develop the tactile interface that allows users to touch a 3D shape by means of a continuous and free hand interaction, it is needed to conduct a preliminary study for evaluating the concept. In this chapter we will analyse how it is possible to render a 3D shape by means of a trajectory according to the designers needs. After that, we will study the ways to make possible the physical rendering of this trajectory by controlling the elastic behaviour of a continuous plastic strip. This analysis allows defining the degrees of freedom that have to be controlled in order to actuate the system and the different kinematics solutions. Various conceptual solutions for the actuations systems will be investigated, and the best solution according to the project goals will be chosen.

Product design process is typically based on loops between the design and the evaluation phases, which require the creation of digital models and physical prototypes. In the last years, real prototypes have been partially substituted with Virtual Prototypes (VPs). These consist in computer simulations of physical products that can be presented, analysed, and tested from concerned product life-cycle aspects, such as design/engineering, manufacturing, maintenance, aesthetic and ergonomic evaluation, as if these activities are conducted on a real physical model. VPs allow designers to evaluate the characteristics of the future product in order to reduce the number of physical prototypes needed, thus leading also to a reduction of developing time and costs. The currently available tools enable the designers to access only the visual information of the virtual prototypes, while in order to get tactile information, physical prototypes are still needed. In this Chapter it is described the product development methodology where the designer can perform the tactile evaluation of a model of a product at the same time of the visual one. Furthermore, the concept of the system that will allow obtaining this goal will be presented.

More than one million people die per year on world's road. Researches have identified drivers' cognitive aspects as the major cause of human errors in 80% of crash events. Driver-Assistance Systems (DAS) have been developed to detect data about vehicle, environment and driver, and to communicate information usually through the senses of vision and hearing. But, the growth of in-vehicle devices increases the visual and auditory demand of the driver. This research aims at investigating whether olfactory stimuli can be used to elicit drivers' cognitive aspects. An experimental framework has been set up, and testing sessions have been organised. The analysis of the data collected from tests shows that olfactory stimuli are more effective in increasing some subjects' physiological parameters than the auditory ones. Therefore, smells may be used as a DAS, for increasing drivers' attention.

Keywords: Driver-assistance systems , Drivers' attention , Olfactory stimuli

In this paper, the authors show the results of an anecdotic experiment about the effect the use of eyeglasses has on the body posture of people in seated positions using different kinds of electronic devices: a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet and a smartphone. The tasks were performed using a fully reconfigurable seating buck on which a standard VDT (Video Display Terminal) workplace with a chair was set. Subjects performed different tasks in order to evaluate the subjective perception of postural comfort. A Digital Human Modeling system was used to model and evaluate, from an ergonomic point of view, the ergonomic level. Software CaMAN®, was used to perform an objective evaluation of the postural comfort of subjects' upper limbs and to compare the results obtained for the different subjects. The results show that the use of glasses has a significant effect on the body postures of the subjects.

Keywords: Comfort , Discomfort , Electronic devices , Glasses , Posture , VDT/computer workplace

In recent years, methods that allow for an objective evaluation of perceived comfort, in terms of postural, physiological, cognitive and environmental comfort, have received a great deal of attention from researchers. This paper focuses on one of the factors that influences physiological comfort perception: the temperature difference between users and the objects with which they interact. The first aim is to create a measuring system that does not affect the perceived comfort during the temperatures' acquisition. The main aim is to evaluate how the temperature at the human-mattress interface can affect the level of perceived comfort. A foam mattress has been used for testing in order to take into account the entire back part of the human body. The temperature at the interface was registered by fourteen 100 Ohm Platinum RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detectors) placed on the mattress under the trunk, the shoulders, the buttocks, the legs, the thighs, the arms and the forearms of the test subject. 29 subjects participated in a comfort test in a humidity controlled environment. The test protocol involved: dress-code, anthropometric-based positioning on mattress, environment temperature measuring and an acclimatization time before the test. At the end of each test, each of the test subject's thermal sensations and the level of comfort perception were evaluated using the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) scale. The data analyses concerned, in the first instance, correlations between the temperature at the interface and comfort levels of the different parts of the body. Then the same analyses were performed independently of the body parts being considered. The results demonstrated that there was no strong correlation among the studied variables and that the total increase of temperature at interface is associated with a reduction in comfort.

Keywords: Bedding systems , Comfort evaluation , Mattress , Objectifying comfort , Temperature , Thermal comfort

This research focuses on the integrated simulation of helicopter-pilot system to predict pilot's physiological and psychological responses to the vibration. This paper describes the approach of integration of helicopter structural model to the aerodynamic forcing function and to the pilot-seat model. The physiological and psychological responses at 5 Hz are calculated based on vibration transmission ratio of the pilot's body segments. The pilot's Physiological responses including heart rate, highest blood pressure, lowest blood pressure, respiration rate and saliva secretion quantity are presented. Tired eyes, irritation, dizziness, yawning, sleepiness and headache as psychological reactions are provided. The integrated simulation approach of helicopter-pilot system can be used for pilot health and comfort assessments, helicopter structural and cockpit and seat design.

The associated risk for a patient taking advantage of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) mainly relates to vibrations. To this aim, especially in case of trauma and serious illness and long travels, aspects related to the vibrations effects on the patient needs to be properly investigated, taking into account the particular features of the helicopter used for HEMS. The purpose of this paper is the integrated simulation of vertical vibration at the supine patient's body, lying down on a rescue litter, in HEMS. Here, a 3D structural model of a reference helicopter, the Aerospatiale Gazelle, has been developed in ABAQUS and integrated with a dynamic model where aerodynamic forcing functions due to rotor are modelled. The accelerations at the litter location in the helicopter structural model are recorded and used as inputs to the supine patient's body model in MATLAB. The Multi-Body (MB) model of the patient's body consists of three interconnected masses of the head-neck, torso-arms and pelvis-legs. The simulation is carried out for single manoeuvre and the vibration information is extracted at the three body segments. This predictive approach of integrated simulation of the helicopter-patient is an effective tool in investigating of biodynamic response of the patient in HEMS. The benefits of this approach are reducing the risk and costs of running the experiments, providing suggestions on redesigning of litters and controlling the vibration on the litters in HEMS.

Keywords: Helicopter Emergency Medical Service , HEMS , Simulation , Structural model , Supine patient's body , Vertical vibration

Domestic appliance are widely used in all countries. During the design phase, it is very important to take advantage of new virtual prototyping technologies in order to improve the user expectations and put the feeling of the user with the device in the centre of the design. The paper deals with the complete simulation of the opening of the front door of an appliance like a refrigerator or an oven. The process is simulated with the use of ad-hoc built program that uses a combination of experimental parameters and virtual fluid dynamic simulations. Each moment involved during the opening of the door is evaluated and a comprehensive explanation of each of them is reported. The entire solving process is parametrized in order to use it in an iteration loop for eventually optimization of the User Experience and the comfort during the opening of the front door. A fridge case study is described and discussed.

Keywords: Door appliance , Experience design , User centred design , User Experience (UX) , Virtual Prototypes (VPs)

In this paper, we present the preliminary steps conducted in the framework of the research project Mitigating Negative Impacts of Monitoring high levels of Automation (MINIMA). The main objectives of MINIMA are (i) to develop vigilance and attention neuro-physiological indexes, and (ii) to implement them in a system that can adapt its behavior and guide the operator's attention. The goal is to mitigate negative impacts of the foreseen increasing automation in future Air Traffic Control (ATC) scenarios on Air Traffic Controller (ATCo) performance. The first step of research activities consists of better comprehension of Out-Of-The-Loop (OOTL) phenomena and of current methods to measure and compensate such effects. Based on this State of the Art, we propose the MINIMA concept, i.e. a dynamic adaptation of the task environment which is foreseen as a major requirement to keep the human ‘in the loop', perfectly aware of the traffic situation. In the second part of this paper, we give details about the highly automated Terminal Manoeuvring Area selected as case study. Additionally, we describe the adaptation mechanisms that are planned to be implemented into this task environment and analyzed in the MINIMA project. Finally, the document provides information about the technical implementation of the vigilance and attention measurement that will be used to trigger adaptation of the task environment.

Keywords: Adaptive task and support activation , Air traffic controller , Attention , Attention guidance , Automation , Electroencephalography , Terminal Manoeuvring Area , Vigilance

Joint action - the cooperation with other individuals to achieve a shared motor goal, is a crucial ability for human survival. This process takes place when actors are synchronized at a sensorimotor level. However, the experiential correlates of sensorimotor synchronization are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the experience of flow and social presence in a sensorimotor collaborative task. 12 female couples (mean age = 22.33; S.D. = .815) and 12 male couples (mean age = 22.88; S.D. = .789) were involved in a tower-building task across 10 consecutive trials using the COLLEGO platform [1]. Couple members alternated their leader/follower role. Platform recorded time stamp (ms) and position of each selected object when it was picked/released, providing a measure of performance. Thereafter, participants' level of flow (Flow State Scale), an intrinsically motivating state of consciousness, and social presence (Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory), i.e., the feeling of being with other Selves in a real or virtual environment, were assessed. Flow and Social presence correlated positively at a global level. Having clear goals was negatively associated with performance, while awareness and merging with one's own actions correlated positively with performance. Task duration correlated negatively with attentive and behavioral dimensions of social presence, but positively with cognitive and emotional dimensions. Results are discussed according to the Networked Flow model assuming a positive correlation between social presence and flow at the base of the highest levels of collaborative performance.

Keywords: COLLEGO platform , Flow experience , Joint action , Networked flow model , Sensorimotor interaction , Social presence , Synchronization