Search

This study aims to understand the usability of common button colours and background choices in the existing augmented reality (AR) interface. AR is increasingly used in dynamic situations, such as driving using an AR head-up display. However, studies regarding the usability of AR interfaces, especially about the colours, are scarce. Twenty-four participants performed button selection tasks in an experiment using Microsoft HoloLens. Three measures (task completion time, the number of errors, and button colour visibility were collected for the 12 experimental conditions (3 backgrounds by 4 button colours). Significant differences were found in completion time between backgrounds and blue button visibility. On a moving background, the most effective button colour is orange, and the most minor effective button colour is blue. The results of this study can be used for colour choices in designing AR applications and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meal-assistance robots (MARs) help feed meals to users with disabilities or who need help consuming their meals. Although such MARs have been introduced in various fields, guidelines for evaluating MARs are limited. This study aims to develop comprehensive guidelines to assess the user experience (UX) of MAR designs considering its social interaction characteristics between humans and robots. Participants from three groups (patients, doctors, and caregivers) with different perspectives on MARs were recruited and a focus group interview was conducted to collect their UXs with MARs. The three groups showed different UXs with MARs in user interface design, robot arm motion, and safety and mobility. In addition, based on the literature review, eight UX features (usability, emotion, value, naturalness, assistance, acceptance, personality, and culture) are proposed to evaluate MAR interfaces. The proposed comprehensive design guideline will be particularly useful in evaluating and designing the UX of MARs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) devices have recently become popular; however, research on input methods for VR devices is lacking. The main input methods of current commercial devices can be classified into two categories: manual selection using a controller and gaze selection. This study aims to derive the optimal input method and timing for VR devices by analyzing the performance of these input methods. A study is conducted in which participants wear a VR headset and select an activated input button from a 3 × 3 array on a VR device with two button sizes and two input methods. The manual selection method exhibits a shorter task completion time but a greater error number compared to the gaze selection method. For the gaze selection method, the task completion time and target search time were shortest when the gaze timing was 1 s. Further, the button size was determined to be statistically significant only when the manual selection method was used. The results of this study can be used as a reference in future VR user experience and product design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people have significant difficulties while using information technology (IT) devices. This study suggests a new concept of IT interaction disability (ITID) to understand the significant difficulties that users may encounter while using IT devices. The task, interface, and context (TIC) framework for classifying the types of ITID is also developed; this framework includes three components: tasks, user interface elements, and context factors. A case study in which visually impaired people used smartphones was conducted to illustrate the types of ITID and to show the applicability of the TIC framework. The result of this study can provide insights to researchers to improve the understanding of the significant difficulties of using IT devices and to analyse these difficulties systematically. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were determined in 50 samples of Korean human milk. POPs include organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) [aldrin, chlordanes, dieldrin, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), endrins, heptachlors, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), mirex, and toxaphenes] and marker PCBs (PCB28, PCB52, PCB101, PCB138, PCB153 and PCB180). In all samples, p,p′-DDE were determined as 75.5–1115.3 ng/g fat. The compounds β-HCH and p,p’-DDT were detected at 72% and 60% of the samples, respectively. Chlordanes (nd–84.9 ng/g fat) heptachlors (nd–40.1 ng/g fat), HCB (nd–42.9 ng/g fat) and PCBs (nd–38.3 ng/g fat) were detected in several samples. The ratio of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethylene (DDE)/DDT was 6.8, which explained that exposure of volunteers to DDT did not occur recently. Compared with the previous monitoring data, the level of marker PCBs generally decreased in the milk samples. The levels of OCPs are significantly correlated to the residential periods of the mothers but not with their dietary habits. Considering the daily intake of each OCPs, 18% of infants would ingest the amount of heptachlor exceeding the acceptable daily intake (ADI) proposed by World Health Organization (WHO). There was no sample surpassing the WHO ADI for DDTs, HCB and chlordanes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although there have been significant advances in the development of virtual-reality-based surgical simulations, there remain fundamental questions concerning the fidelity required for effective surgical training. A dual-station experimental platform was built for the purpose of investigating these fidelity requirements. Analogous laparoscopic surgical tasks were implemented on a virtual station and a real station, with the virtual station modeling the real environment with various degrees of fidelity. After measuring the subjects' initial performance on the real station, different groups of subjects were trained on the virtual station under a variety of conditions and finally tested on the real station. Experiments involved bimanual pushing and cutting tasks on a nonlinear elastic object. The results showed that force feedback results in significantly improved training transfer as compared to training without force feedback. The training effectiveness of a linear approximation model was approximately the same as that of a more accurate nonlinear model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the challenging topic of indoor location and guidance in daily tasks of location and hostile scenarios (i.e. emergency evacuations) that could be produced, which at present have no universally viable and implemented solution. Indoor guidance in public spaces such as hospitals or private spaces such as a company building helps people with mild and moderate cognitive disabilities to get on safely in their daily lives and to promote their social integration. This paper analyses three areas of research: location technologies, location services for sensory navigation and problems derived from stress due to panic in hostile circumstances. Therefore, in this work we focus on finding solutions related to the absence of GNSS signals, discriminating of different floors in a building, problems of adequate information transmission to the users and absence of connectivity and interfaces, i.e. we must adapt the solutions that exist for outdoor to indoor. In particular, the analysis has focused on viable technologies for emergency or everyday situations that create a network of roads within a single building. The results obtained outline the requirements that need to be addressed in the development of wayfinding services that provides sensory guidance to people with cognitive disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]