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As the global traffic environment becomes increasingly complex, driving safety issues have become more prominent, making manual-response driving warning systems (DWSs) essential. Augmented reality head-up display (AR-HUD) technology can project information directly, enhancing driver attention; however, improper design may increase cognitive load and affect safety. Thus, the design of AR-HUD driving warning interfaces must focus on improving attention and reducing cognitive load. Currently, systematic research on AR-HUD DWS interfaces is relatively scarce. This paper proposes an ecological interface cognitive balance design strategy for AR-HUD DWS based on cognitive load theory and environmental interface design theory. The research includes developing design models, an integrative framework, and experimental validation suitable for warning scenarios. Research results indicate that the proposed design effectively reduces cognitive load and significantly decreases driver response and comprehension times, outperforming existing interfaces. This design strategy and framework possess promotional value, providing theoretical references and methodological guidance for AR-HUD warning interface research.

Integrated energy systems (IESs) seek to minimize power generating costs in future power grids through the coupling of different energy technologies. To accommodate fluctuations in load demand due to the penetration of renewable energy sources, flexible operation capabilities must be fully exploited, and even power plants that are traditionally considered as base-load units need to be operated according to unconventional paradigms. Thermomechanical loads induced by frequent power adjustments can accelerate the wear and tear. If a unit is flexibly operated without respecting limits on materials, the risk of failures of expensive components will eventually increase, nullifying the additional profits ensured by flexible operation. In addition to the bounds on power variations (explicit constraints),the solution of the unit dispatch problem needs to meet the limits on the variation of key process variables, including temperature, pressure and flow rate (implicit constraints).The FARM (Feasible Actuator Range Modifier) module was developed to enable existing optimization algorithms to identify solutions to the unit dispatch problem that are both economically favorable and technologically sustainable. Thanks to the iterative dispatcher–validator scheme, FARM permits addressing all the imposed constraints without excessively increasing the computational costs. In this work, the algorithms constituting the module are described, and the performance was assessed by solving the unit dispatch problem for an IES composed of three units, i.e., balance of plant, gas turbine, and high-temperature steam electrolysis. Finally, the FARM module provides dedicated tools for visualizing the response of the constrained variables of interest during operational transients and a tool aiding the operator at making decisions. These techniques might represent the first step towards the deployment of an ecological interface design (EID) for IES units.

This research addresses the data overload faced by intelligence searchers in government and defense agencies. The study leverages methods from the Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) literature to generate insights into the intelligence search work domain. These insights are applied to a supporting concept and requirements for designing and evaluating a human-AI agent team specifically for intelligence search tasks. Domain analysis reveals the dynamic nature of the ‘value structure’, a term that describes the evolving set of criteria governing the intelligence search process. Additionally, domain insight provides details for search aggregation and conceptual spaces from which the value structure could be efficiently applied for intelligence search. Support system designs that leverage these findings may enable an intelligence searcher to interact with and understand data at more abstract levels to improve task efficiency. Additionally, new system designs can support the searcher by facilitating an ‘Ambient Awareness’ of non-selected objects in a large data field through relevant system cues. Ambient Awareness achieved through the supporting concept and AI teaming has the potential to address the data overload problem while increasing the breadth and depth of search coverage.

Collisions between trains and road vehicles at rail level crossings remain an intractable transport safety issue. This paper describes the application of Rasmussen’s ecological interface design (EID) principles to the development of a novel ‘passive’ rail level crossing prototype design and its evaluation using two driving simulator studies. Study 1 involved the design of the prototype EID crossing. Study 2 compared the EID crossing design with a standard ‘active’ rail level crossing with red flashing lights under normal conditions and Study 3 compared the crossings under conditions of driver distraction and technology failure. The findings show that under normal conditions, the EID crossing produced more cautious speed on approach than the standard design, but similar patterns of decision-making. Under conditions of distraction and failure, participants again demonstrated more cautious speed profiles on approach when encountering the EID design. Importantly, in technology failure conditions, the EID design appeared to encourage participants to engage in higher level problem-solving, which was not seen in response to the standard crossing. It is concluded that the EID crossing may be more able to support adaptive decision-making under conditions of failure or uncertainty.

ObjectiveTo gain a deeper understanding of the information requirements of clinicians conducting neonatal resuscitation in the first 10 min after birth.BackgroundDuring the resuscitation of a newborn infant in the first minutes after birth, clinicians must monitor crucial physiological adjustments that are relatively unobservable, unpredictable, and highly variable. Clinicians’ access to information regarding the physiological status of the infant is also crucial to determining which interventions are most appropriate. To design displays to support clinicians during newborn resuscitation, we must first carefully consider the information requirements.MethodsWe conducted a work domain analysis (WDA) for the neonatal transition in the first 10 min after birth. We split the work domain into two ‘subdomains’; the physiology of the neonatal transition, and the clinical resources supporting the neonatal transition. A WDA can reveal information requirements that are not yet supported by resources.ResultsThe physiological WDA acted as a conceptual tool to model the exact processes and functions that clinicians must monitor and potentially support during the neonatal transition. Importantly, the clinical resources WDA revealed several capabilities and limitations of the physical objects in the work domain—ultimately revealing which physiological functions currently have no existing sensor to provide clinicians with information regarding their status.ConclusionWe propose two potential approaches to improving the clinician’s information environment: (1) developing new sensors for the information we lack, and (2) employing principles of ecological interface design to present currently available information to the clinician in a more effective way.

Future air traffic control will have to rely on more advanced automation to support human controllers in their job of safely handling increased traffic volumes. A prerequisite for the success of such automation is that the data driving it are reliable. Current technology, however, still warrants human supervision in coping with (data) uncertainties and consequently in judging the quality and validity of machine decisions. In this study, ecological interface design was used to assist controllers in fault diagnosis of automated advice, using a prototype ecological interface (called the solution space diagram) for tactical conflict detection and resolution in the horizontal plane. Results from a human-in-the-loop simulation, in which sixteen participants were tasked with monitoring automation and intervening whenever required or desired, revealed a significant improvement in fault detection and diagnosis in a complex traffic scenario. Additionally, the experiment also exposed interesting interaction patterns between the participants and the advisory system, which seemed unrelated to the fault diagnosis task. Here, the explicit means-ends links appeared to have affected participants’ control strategy, which was geared toward taking over control from automation, regardless of the fault condition. This result suggests that in realizing effective human-automation teamwork, finding the right balance between offering more insight (e.g., through ecological interfaces) and striving for compliance with single (machine) advice is an avenue worth exploring further.

The use of mobile devices inside vehicles while driving is generating an imminent safety risk. Due to this situation, one of the most relevant solutions is the Head-Up Display (HUD) system, which displays information about the system, status, and aids of the vehicle and a little data of the in-vehicle entertainment in the driver’s field of view during the driving activity. In fact, it is important to establish some guidelines or parameters to design HUD interfaces, since the automakers do not disclose their guidelines for the overall design of these interfaces. The main approach of this article is to propose a methodology for the design of automotive HUD interfaces, considering information from the ADAS, IVIS and external devices that meet the current needs of drivers. A validation of the methodology was made with product design engineers and computer engineers. It was concluded that predominantly in the designs the classification of information depending on the level of importance is clear. In this case, driving information is the most relevant in the whole design. An important aspect concerning the implementation of HUD devices is that this technology has more relevance in automotive interior design looking for a perfect balance between the primary task, driving, and the secondary task, multitasking activities on nomadic devices.

Transport, particularly private vehicle use, contributes a disproportionately large amount to the degradation of the environment. Although advancements in energy production and vehicular technologies are critical for abatement, behaviour change will also have to be seen, hence the requirement for the application of Ergonomics. This review article aims to bring together various strands of research, including the effect of the design of a technological object on behaviour, the inter-related nature of goals and feedback in guiding performance, the effect on fuel economy of different driving styles and the various challenges brought by hybrid and electric vehicles, including range anxiety, workload and distraction, complexity and novelty. Finally, it is argued that Ecological Interface Design, in presenting the constraints of the system to the driver, is well suited to deal with the novelty of the low-carbon vehicle, supports the development of accurate mental-models of the system, and can be used for the design of in-vehicle interfaces that encourage energy-conserving driving behaviours while minimising distraction and workload, thus ensuring safety.

Automation in today’s world supports human operators to accomplish several tasks in limited time. With more advanced automation and autonomous systems, the hu-mans’ role is shifting from hands-on operational tasks to supervisory tasks. In complex environments such as air traffic control, supervisory tasks become difficult to manage during unexpected situations as the operator needs to have a clear understanding of various resolution strategies and their consequences and make decisions about them in a limited amount of time (i.e. within a couple of minutes). In such environments, interface designers must carefully consider how information should be presented to the operators. An improper way of presenting information could, wastefully consume operators’ cognitive resources resulting in inefficient decision-making and an increased risk of failure.By designing ecological visual analytics interfaces, this thesis addresses the problem of real-time decision-making in the domain of air traffic control. The aim of this thesis has been to apply ecological design theories to the design and evaluation of visual representations to better support controllers’ analytical capabilities and decision-making. Four novel visual analytics interfaces were designed, developed, and tested over the course of this research project. To understand how the designed visual representations affected the operators’ decision-making processes, evaluation studies with air traffic controllers as well as novices without ATC experience were conducted for two of the designed interfaces and the results were analyzed. The contribution of this thesis to the field of air traffic control and visualization design is fourfold. First, the thesis contributes knowledge on what information should be visualized and how, to achieve functional goals of conflict detection and resolution task of air traffic control. Second, evolved through a series of design studies, a final interactive visual analytics interface is proposed that visualizes information about the available solution space for solving conflict situations between airborne traffic and the traffic complexity. The interface supports controllers’ decision-making process for resolving conflicts and ability to reduce the traffic complexity. Third, the method developed for evaluating the interface designs contribute with knowledge on how interfaces tailored to safety-critical systems can be tested. Fourth, findings show that the integration of ecological interface design with the development of visual representations can shape novice and expert operators’ decision-making towards domain-specific functional goals, while allowing them to follow their own problem-solving strategies.

This study evaluates whether the approach of ecological interface design (EID) can be applied to natural systems. Whereas the EID has proved its worth in a number of studies done at interfaces for complex artificial systems, its application to natural systems is just emerging. A display was designed for tide predictions. This new tidal display, referred to as the ecological document (ED), was evaluated against a classical table format and a commercially available graphical display, to assess the cognitive contribution of the ED to user performance for maritime novices and experts. The results are that the ED leads to less misreading, shorter response times, and a subjective preference among novices and experts. In particular, response times to questions concerning abstract functions of the domain decrease with the use of the ED. Thus, a document reflecting the domain can significantly improve information retrieval, and in particular cognitive processing on abstract functions.