Ergonomics in Design: The Quarterly of Human Factors Applications

Although tactile applications have been explored heavily in the past decade, use on the head is rare. Army researchers are exploring the possibility of using a head-mounted tactile display to augment visual displays currently used for navigation. Such a tactile display has the potential to decrease the amount of information the user would otherwise process visually by off-loading the navigation task from the visual to the tactile modality while providing soldiers with a covert method of receiving directional information regarding a navigation or sniper detection task.

Scientific research accesses the past to predict the future. The history of science is often best told by those who have lived it. Our purpose is to provide a brief history of human-automation interaction research, including a review of theories for describing human performance with automated systems, an accounting of automation effects on cognitive performance, a description of the origins of adaptive automation and key developments, and an identification of contemporary methods and issues in operator functional state classification. Based on this history and acknowledgements of the state of the art of human-automaton interaction, future predictions are offered.

Pallet jacks used in manual material handling jobs are commonly pulled behind the operator to allow full visibility, resulting in awkward shoulder extension and trunk rotation. In this laboratory study, we compared an alternative handle with a standard handle during use when traveling with the pallet jack behind the operator. Total oxygen consumption, usability, comfort, and preference were compared between the two handles. The results showed different advantages associated with each handle design, leading to the conclusion that a secondary handle, used in conjunction with a primary standard handle, may be a beneficial intervention for pallet jack use.

Amusement park developers have begun designing queue systems to make the wait for service less cumbersome for guests. Maister introduced a theoretical framework with eight guidelines for improving customer satisfaction and minimizing the perception of wait duration. These guide- lines were designed to be generalizable to a wide range of settings but do not fully take into account the unique characteristics of theme park queues. The following proposed guidelines offer a taxonomy for reducing the negative impact of subjective perception of time and provide a specific framework for designing these queued environments in an amusement park setting.