On Proposal of Function-Behavior-State Framework as Refinement of EID Framework of Human-Machine Interface Design

This paper discusses the principles of interface design. Interface design is an important issue in the human-machine systems. Modem complex human-machine systems, such as the control room in nuclear power plants and the autopilot or pilot-aid systems in the cockpit of aircraft, call for an extensive study on human-machine interface design. A new principle for human-machine interface design called Function Behavior State (FBS) is proposed in this paper and a comparative study for Ecological Interface Design (EID) and FBS is performed on a simulated process plant system. The pupil diameter is higher in FBS than EID, which implies that the subjects' mental workload is higher in FBS than EID. This is inconsistent to the subjects' self-assessment. One of the reasons for this contradictory may be that the time constraint is too demanding to make the subjects feel hopeful to get knowledge needed to solve the problem.