A methodology for developing and controlling human/computer interfaces

Advances in computer technology, along with an increase in the bandwidth of information to communicate, have led to increasingly complex and overburdened human/computer interfaces. As a consequence of these conditions, the probability of an operator taking incorrect actions due to critical information being misunderstood or overlooked has increased. This situation is particularly a problem in mission critical environments where the safety of personnel and success of the mission depend on accurate and rapid operator responses. Central to the effectiveness of the operator in detecting and responding to information is the design of the display interface. The amount of information simultaneously presented, the speed information is communicated, and the efficient use of all display modalities influence the effectiveness of the display interface. In particular, in mission critical environments, maintaining optimum operator responsiveness under both routine and mission critical conditions has presented a challenge in display interface design. A design and control methodology is described that maps inputs to outputs using a user programmable interface. The methodology was designed to provide a flexible and robust means of designing and controlling display interface systems and to accommodate advances developed through human factors research into cognitive psychology. As proof of concept, a test bed employing the methods described and simulating the conditions experienced by an air traffic control operator is described. Test results from a study using the test bed and undertaken in collaboration with the Department of Psychology at Purdue University are described. The motivation behind the study was to determine the benefit virtual 3-D audio provides in mission critical display interfaces with multiple speech sources. Overall, virtual 3-D audio increased operator performance when compared to monaural conditions. Operator performance was dependent on the positioning of the speech sources with maximum performance achieved with spatial separations of 90°. Adding movement (dither) and graphics (visual redundancy) to speech sources produced marginal improvements in operator responsiveness.