Experimental Study on Different Types of Curves for Ride Comfort in Automated Vehicles

Vehicle automation is among the best possible solutions for traffic issues, including traffic accidents, traffic jams, and energy consumption. However, the user acceptance of automated vehicles is critical and is affected by riding comfort. In addition, human factors in automated vehicle control should be clear. This study evaluates the effect of different courses on driving comfort in automated vehicles using field experiments with 25 subjects. This study focused on lateral motion, but speed control was not targeted. Further, generating a path for obstacle avoidance and lane keeping, which have several constraining conditions, was also not targeted. Rendering a comfortable path is beneficial for developing an acceptable system as a car developer and for building new curves for automated or driving assistance systems from the perspective of construction. The automated vehicle drove at a speed of 30 km/h on four courses, namely, clothoid, two types of spline curves, and arc, based on the real intersection. Each participant sat on both the driver and passenger seat and answered a questionnaire. The experimental data indicated the clothoid course to be the most comfortable, while the arc was most uncomfortable for a significance level of 1%. These tendencies are applicable to driver and passenger seats, all genders, and experiences and will be beneficial for human factor research in automated vehicle control.

HRV Monitoring for Human Factor Research in UAS

Though Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) operators have started to push for general acceptance into the National Airspace System (NAS), there remain significant and necessary areas of research. Despite the ‘Unmanned’ moniker, human factors serve a vital role in safe and robust operation. Numerous reports have placed human errors as significant factors in recent UAS incidents, leading many researchers to investigate a framework for analyzing these human factors that lead to incidents. In this paper, the use of Heart Rate Variability (HRV), as an indicator of operator pressure or cognitive load of a UAS operator, is considered. Furthermore, potential applications of HRV research are presented towards applying this new layer of human feedback information to adjust UAS operations to achieve a safer and more resilient UAS. This paper serves as an initial proposal for this bigger closed-loop thinking in UAS human factor research.

New edition leaves scope for 'human factor' research

The Cunningham and Turner reader, once again, has a core of 11 informational chapters updating us on developments in and around mass media, set in a jacket of other chapters describing selected theories of media or media research. At the back there are some 'cultural studies' essays about aspects of prominent media fare over recent years: sports, celebrities, media treatments of the 2005 Cronulla 'riot' are brought out once again.

Human Factors Guidelines for the Use of Synthetic Speech Devices

Synthetic speech devices have attracted considerable attention in the last several years, and are found in consumer, military, or industrial applications. A body of literature on synthetic speech can be assembled from human factor research and from research in perceptual psychology and linguistics. This literature includes research on the intelligibility, comprehension and acceptability of synthetic speech, work on the use of synthetic speech in multi-task situations, and studies of the function and utility of synthetic speech for alarming and annunciation, and for training and education. A review of this literature will be presented. In addition, standard human factors references and guides for speech communication are analyzed for their applicability to modern synthetic speech technologies.