Human Factors Issues in Virtual Environments: A Review of the Literature

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay M. Stanney ◽  
Ronald R. Mourant ◽  
Robert S. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Multimodal Interaction ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
User Characteristics ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Motor Physiology

Virtual environments are envisioned as being systems that will enhance the communication between humans and computers. If virtual systems are to be effective and well received by their users, considerable human-factors research needs to be accomplished. This paper provides an overview of many of these human-factors issues, including human performance efficiency in virtual worlds (which is likely influenced by task characteristics, user characteristics, human sensory and motor physiology, multimodal interaction, and the potential need for new design metaphors); health and safety issues (of which cybersickness and deleterious physiological aftereffects may pose the most concern); and the social impact of the technology. The challenges each of these factors present to the effective design of virtual environments and systematic approaches to the resolution of each of these issues are discussed.

Me and My VE, Part 5: Applications in Human Factors Research and Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 2051-2055
Author(s):  
Randall Spain ◽  
Benjamin Goldberg ◽  
Jeffrey Hansberger ◽  
Tami Griffith ◽  
Jeremy Flynn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Human Factors Research

Recent advances in technology have made virtual environments, virtual reality, augmented reality, and simulations more affordable and accessible to researchers, companies, and the general public, which has led to many novel use cases and applications. A key objective of human factors research and practice is determining how these technology-rich applications can be designed and applied to improve human performance across a variety of contexts. This session will demonstrate some of the distinct and diverse uses of virtual environments and mixed reality environments in an alternative format. The session will begin with each demonstrator providing a brief overview of their virtual environment (VE) and a description of how it has been used to address a particular problem or research need. Following the description portion of the session, each VE will be set-up at a demonstration station in the room, and session attendees will be encouraged to directly interact with the virtual environment and ask demonstrators questions about their research and inquire about the effectiveness of using VE for research, training, and evaluation purposes. The overall objective of this alternative session is to increase the awareness of how human factors professionals use VE technologies and increase the awareness of the capabilities and limitations of VE in supporting the work of HF professionals.

Human Factors Issues in Environmental Incidents

1993 ◽  
Vol 37 (14) ◽  
pp. 1009-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold E. (Smoke) Price
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Safety Training ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Process Systems ◽  
Fitness For Duty ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Environmental Accidents

Current evidence suggests that human error or impaired human performance is a significant causal factor in environmental accidents and incidents. Some data from studies and analyses, accident investigations, and research is used to emphasize the extent of the problems. However, there are existing laws, regulations, or policy that require consideration of human factors in prevention of environmental incidents. Some specific requirements related to human factors are discussed. Finally, some areas for human factors contribution to environmental protection are discussed. These include such things as human error/accident audit reviews, human reliability analyses as a part of risk assessment, root cause analyses of accidents, fitness-for-duty assessment, health and safety training, and human factors in the design of future hazardous or toxic process systems.

Developing Speech Input for Virtual Applications

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-65
Author(s):  
Alex Stedmon ◽  
David Howard ◽  
Christin Kirchhübel
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Interaction Design ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Multimodal Interaction ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Dialogue Management ◽  
Speech Input ◽  
Current State ◽  
Intuitive Interface

This paper contextualises the position of speech input from a user-centred human factors perspective. It is presented as a position paper so that researchers and designers can consider the underlying and future factors of a people-orientated approach to speech input for virtual applications. A number of key areas are explored including: human factors for speech input; speech input for virtual applications; speech as a spare mode of interaction; user acceptance and uptake; incorporating speech in the development of virtual applications; and speech input as an interaction tool. Given the user-centred perspective of this paper, this paper does not set out to address issues associated with spoken dialogue technologies, dialogue, and dialogue management; recent work on conversational agents in virtual environments; or multimodal interaction. This paper places the focus more fundamentally within human factors by looking at the user first as a basis for developing usable virtual applications incorporating speech input rather than to review the current state of the art in interaction design. A particular point this paper makes, however, is that speech input should be designed and used as another interaction tool that users need to learn to use, rather than assuming it will offer a natural or intuitive interface.

scholarly journals Applications of Virtual Environments in Human Factors Research and Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 2308-2312
Author(s):  
Randall Spain ◽  
Benjamin Goldberg ◽  
Pete Khooshabeh ◽  
David Krum ◽  
Joshua Biro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Human Factors Research

Virtual reality, augmented reality, and other forms of virtual environments have the potential to dramatically change how individuals work, learn, and interact with each other. A key objective of human factors research and practice is to determine how these environments should be designed to maximize performance efficiency, ensure health and safety, and circumvent potential human virtual environment interaction problems. This session will demonstrate some of the distinct and diverse uses of virtual reality, mixed reality, and virtual environments in an alternative format. The session will begin with each demonstrator providing a brief overview of their virtual environment and describing how it has been used to address a particular problem or research need. Following the description portion of the session, all demonstrations will be set-up around the room, and session attendees will be encouraged to directly interact with the environment and ask demonstrators questions about their research and inquire about the effectiveness of using their virtual environment for research, training, and evaluation purposes. The overall objective of this alternative session is to provoke ideas among the attendees for how virtual reality, mixed reality, and virtual environments can help address their research, training, education or business needs.

Policy Recommendations to Reduce Toxic Exposures for Nail Salon Workers

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Liou ◽  
Catherine Porter ◽  
Thu Quach
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Safety Information ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Government Oversight ◽  
Regulatory Perspective ◽  
Nail Salon ◽  
Health And Safety Issues ◽  
Nail Salon Workers

The nail salon sector is growing rapidly. Nail salon workers are predominantly Vietnamese immigrant women who are exposed to numerous harmful chemicals in nail care products. The situation is exacerbated by limited safety information, language barriers to information, and lack of government oversight. This brief discusses the health and safety issues faced by workers at the nexus of environmental and worker justice and the policy recommendations by which to address these issues from a public health and regulatory perspective. Although these policy recommendations pertain to California where the sector is largest, they also have far-reaching implications at the national level.

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Environments: Demonstrations of Current Technologies and Future Directions

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 2119-2123
Author(s):  
Sarah Beadle ◽  
Randall Spain ◽  
Benjamin Goldberg ◽  
Mahdi Ebnali ◽  
Shannon Bailey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Risk Environment ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Simulated Environments ◽  
Interactive Session ◽  
Immersive Technologies

Virtual environments and immersive technologies are growing in popularity for human factors purposes. Whether it is training in a low-risk environment or using simulated environments for testing future automated vehicles, virtual environments show promise for the future of our field. The purpose of this session is to have current human factors practitioners and researchers demonstrate their immersive technologies. This is the eighth iteration of the “Me and My VE” interactive session. Presenters in this session will provide a brief introduction of their virtual reality, augmented reality, or virtual environment work before engaging with attendees in an interactive demonstration period. During this period, the presenters will each have a multimedia display of their immersive technology as well as discuss their work and development efforts. The selected demonstrations cover issues of designing immersive interfaces, military and medical training, and using simulation to better understand complex tasks. This includes a mix of government, industry, and academic-based work. Attendees will be virtually immersed in the technologies and research presented allowing for interaction with the work being done in this field.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Self-Reported Agricultural Tasks, Safety Concerns, and Health and Safety Behaviors of Young Adults in U.S. Collegiate Agricultural Programs

Safety ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
J. L. Gibbs ◽  
K. Walls ◽  
C. Sheridan ◽  
D. Sullivan ◽  
M. Cheyney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Safety Behaviors ◽  
Medical Provider ◽  
Near Misses ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Agricultural Health ◽  
Safety Concerns ◽  
Agricultural Programs

Young adults enrolled in collegiate agricultural programs are a critical audience for agricultural health and safety training. Understanding the farm tasks that young adults engage in is necessary for tailoring health and safety education. The project analyzed evaluation survey responses from the Gear Up for Ag Health and Safety™ program, including reported agricultural tasks, safety concerns, frequency of discussing health and safety concerns with healthcare providers, safety behaviors, and future career plans. The most common tasks reported included operation of machinery and grain-handling. Most participants intended to work on a family-owned agricultural operation or for an agribusiness/cooperative following graduation. Reported safety behaviors (hearing protection, eye protection, and sunscreen use when performing outdoor tasks) differed by gender and education type. Male community college and university participants reported higher rates of “near-misses” and crashes when operating equipment on the roadway. One-third of participants reported discussing agricultural health and safety issues with their medical provider, while 72% were concerned about the health and safety of their family and co-workers in agriculture. These findings provide guidance for better development of agricultural health and safety programs addressing this population—future trainings should be uniquely tailored, accounting for gender and educational differences.

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