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An audio display for the blind
7.4.27 (69809)
International Electrotechnical Commission. Colours of indicator lights and pushbuttons. The Commission, Geneva,
Switzerland, IEC Standard, Publication 73, 1975, 23 pp; abstr in CIS Abstracts (CIS 76-395). This standard, which specifies colours and establishes a convention for their use in indicator lights and for push-buttons wherever such devices are employed, is intended to increase safety of personnel and to facilitate the correct operation and maintenance of equipment by providing uniformity in the significance of certain colours. It is of general application, from simple cases such as single indicator light, push-button or illuminated pushbutton, to complicated control desks for controlling a whole process. Definitions are followed by sections devoted to: general requirements (use, choice and permanence of colours, use of flashing light); indicator lights; push-buttons, and their meaning and types of illuminated push-buttons are presented in tabular form. A guide to the choice of colours for indicator lights with a table of examples is appended.
7.4.28(69810)
An auditory code capable of transducing two dimensional patterns and pictures for presentation to blind people has been developed. The image to be presented is detected by a television camera or other device and translated into the code by electronic circuits. Coding of a picture consists of producing a series of tone bursts which represent a series of dots placed in a plane. The vertical location of each dot is made known to the subject by the frequency of the tone burst presented to him through binaural headphones. The ratio of sound amplitudes presented to each ear signals the horizontal position of each dot. These methods of coding vertical and horizontal position utilize the principles of psychoacoustics in that high pitched tones naturally seem to come from a high location, and amplitude differences in the sound presented to the ears makes it seem that sounds are coming from certain positions from left to right. Ten-year old blind subjects with four hours of training with the audio code have identified patterns as complex as a star with 11 points. Blind and blindfolded subjects are able to use the display coupled to a TV camera as a mobility aid in a simple laboratory environment with just 20 rain of training.
Mourant, R.R. and Langolf, G.D. Luminance specifications for automobile instrument panels. Human Factors, Feb 1976, 18.1, 7 1 - 8 4 . To establish a minimum luminance level, a psychological procedure was used to establish the 95% correctness threshold for 95% of older drivers (ages ranged from 45 to 67). The correctness threshold and subject response times were obtained over eight letter luminance levels, four letter sizes and three contrast ratios. The results showed that letters must be at least 0"64 cm high (at an 81-3 cm viewing distance) in order to be visible to 95% of the older drivers when letter luminance is set at 1-71 cd/m 2 . Response times declined as letter size, contrast ratio, and letter luminance increased beyond their threshold values. Although older drivers' visual acuity losses may be compensated by the use of corrective lenses, their losses in brightness and contrast sensitivity simply mean that they need about ten times as much light as younger drivers.
7.4.30 (69830)
Simpson, C.A. and Williams, D.H. Human Factors research problems in electronic voice warning system design. ln: NASA l lth Annual Conference on Manual Control, May 1975, pp 9 4 - 1 0 6 ; abstr in Scientific and Technical
The speech messages issued by voice warning systems must be carefully designed in accordance with general principles of human decision making processes, human speech comprehension, and the conditions in which the warnings can occur. The operator's effectiveness must not be degraded by messages that are either inappropriate or difficult to comprehend. Important experimental variables include message content, linguistic redundancy, signal/ noise ratio, interference with concurrent tasks, and listener expectations generated by the pragmatic or real world context in which the messages are presented.
7.4.31 (69852)
7.4.29 (69828)
Cornog, D.Y.
Fish, R.M.
Evaluation of pneumatic adjustment feature in chair for LSM operators.
[EEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Mar 1976, BME-23.2, 144
228
153.
This Technical Note reports on one phase of continuing research on LSM operator seating, the investigation of a pneumatic adjust mechanism for LSM operator chairs, and user (LSM operators and in-house secretaries) reaction to such an adjust capability. While other chair and seating data was obtained, in the present report, these are incidental to the main purpose. There is no intent to promote the particular models of chairs evaluated. The pneumatic mechanisms are available separately and can be utilized on a number and variety of different chair designs and makes.
7.4.32 (69856)
Cook, K.G. Human Factors and related design aspects of pallets. U.S. Postal Service,
Research and Development Department, Office o f Postal Technology Research, Information and Human Sciences Division, Technical Note PTR-H433-75-3, Jun 1975, 52 pp. Searches and discussions were conducted to determine: (a) whether in arriving at currently used sizes of pallets, consideration was given to human factors aspects; and (b) the human factors experience in using given pallet sizes. No evidence was found that human factors were considered. The primary consideration in the design and size of pallets was ease of handling and the constraints of the transportation vehicle. Some material is presented on the human factors aspects of loading materials on pallets.
Aerospace Reports (Report No NASA-TM-X-62464; A-6211).
Auditory displays An audio display for the blind.
and Human Sciences Division, Technical Note PTR-H433-75-1, Jan 1975, 42 pp.
US Postal Service, Planning and New Development Department, OJ~)ce o f Postal Technology Research, Information
Applied Ergonomics December 1976
7.4.33 (69857)
Glumm, M.M. The female in equipment design. Paper presented at the Automotive Engineering Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Michigan, February 2 3 - 2 7 1976. Society o f A utomotive Engineers, Paper No 760078, 1976, 6 pp. The influence of women on equipment design is well reflected in current army efforts to accommodate the female soldier in her ever expanding role. Women have been admitted into all military occupational speciNities, formerly considered 'non-traditional', with the exception of combat related areas. The growing presence of women in the army and their projected utilization have not been sufficiently addressed. Recent army requirements, however, emphazise that the enlisted female must now be equally considered in every respect in all army material design including combat equipment. This paper discusses the need for up-to-date
International Electrotechnical Commission. Colours of indicator lights and pushbuttons. The Commission, Geneva,
Switzerland, IEC Standard, Publication 73, 1975, 23 pp; abstr in CIS Abstracts (CIS 76-395). This standard, which specifies colours and establishes a convention for their use in indicator lights and for push-buttons wherever such devices are employed, is intended to increase safety of personnel and to facilitate the correct operation and maintenance of equipment by providing uniformity in the significance of certain colours. It is of general application, from simple cases such as single indicator light, push-button or illuminated pushbutton, to complicated control desks for controlling a whole process. Definitions are followed by sections devoted to: general requirements (use, choice and permanence of colours, use of flashing light); indicator lights; push-buttons, and their meaning and types of illuminated push-buttons are presented in tabular form. A guide to the choice of colours for indicator lights with a table of examples is appended.
7.4.28(69810)
An auditory code capable of transducing two dimensional patterns and pictures for presentation to blind people has been developed. The image to be presented is detected by a television camera or other device and translated into the code by electronic circuits. Coding of a picture consists of producing a series of tone bursts which represent a series of dots placed in a plane. The vertical location of each dot is made known to the subject by the frequency of the tone burst presented to him through binaural headphones. The ratio of sound amplitudes presented to each ear signals the horizontal position of each dot. These methods of coding vertical and horizontal position utilize the principles of psychoacoustics in that high pitched tones naturally seem to come from a high location, and amplitude differences in the sound presented to the ears makes it seem that sounds are coming from certain positions from left to right. Ten-year old blind subjects with four hours of training with the audio code have identified patterns as complex as a star with 11 points. Blind and blindfolded subjects are able to use the display coupled to a TV camera as a mobility aid in a simple laboratory environment with just 20 rain of training.
Mourant, R.R. and Langolf, G.D. Luminance specifications for automobile instrument panels. Human Factors, Feb 1976, 18.1, 7 1 - 8 4 . To establish a minimum luminance level, a psychological procedure was used to establish the 95% correctness threshold for 95% of older drivers (ages ranged from 45 to 67). The correctness threshold and subject response times were obtained over eight letter luminance levels, four letter sizes and three contrast ratios. The results showed that letters must be at least 0"64 cm high (at an 81-3 cm viewing distance) in order to be visible to 95% of the older drivers when letter luminance is set at 1-71 cd/m 2 . Response times declined as letter size, contrast ratio, and letter luminance increased beyond their threshold values. Although older drivers' visual acuity losses may be compensated by the use of corrective lenses, their losses in brightness and contrast sensitivity simply mean that they need about ten times as much light as younger drivers.
7.4.30 (69830)
Simpson, C.A. and Williams, D.H. Human Factors research problems in electronic voice warning system design. ln: NASA l lth Annual Conference on Manual Control, May 1975, pp 9 4 - 1 0 6 ; abstr in Scientific and Technical
The speech messages issued by voice warning systems must be carefully designed in accordance with general principles of human decision making processes, human speech comprehension, and the conditions in which the warnings can occur. The operator's effectiveness must not be degraded by messages that are either inappropriate or difficult to comprehend. Important experimental variables include message content, linguistic redundancy, signal/ noise ratio, interference with concurrent tasks, and listener expectations generated by the pragmatic or real world context in which the messages are presented.
7.4.31 (69852)
7.4.29 (69828)
Cornog, D.Y.
Fish, R.M.
Evaluation of pneumatic adjustment feature in chair for LSM operators.
[EEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Mar 1976, BME-23.2, 144
228
153.
This Technical Note reports on one phase of continuing research on LSM operator seating, the investigation of a pneumatic adjust mechanism for LSM operator chairs, and user (LSM operators and in-house secretaries) reaction to such an adjust capability. While other chair and seating data was obtained, in the present report, these are incidental to the main purpose. There is no intent to promote the particular models of chairs evaluated. The pneumatic mechanisms are available separately and can be utilized on a number and variety of different chair designs and makes.
7.4.32 (69856)
Cook, K.G. Human Factors and related design aspects of pallets. U.S. Postal Service,
Research and Development Department, Office o f Postal Technology Research, Information and Human Sciences Division, Technical Note PTR-H433-75-3, Jun 1975, 52 pp. Searches and discussions were conducted to determine: (a) whether in arriving at currently used sizes of pallets, consideration was given to human factors aspects; and (b) the human factors experience in using given pallet sizes. No evidence was found that human factors were considered. The primary consideration in the design and size of pallets was ease of handling and the constraints of the transportation vehicle. Some material is presented on the human factors aspects of loading materials on pallets.
Aerospace Reports (Report No NASA-TM-X-62464; A-6211).
Auditory displays An audio display for the blind.
and Human Sciences Division, Technical Note PTR-H433-75-1, Jan 1975, 42 pp.
US Postal Service, Planning and New Development Department, OJ~)ce o f Postal Technology Research, Information
Applied Ergonomics December 1976
7.4.33 (69857)
Glumm, M.M. The female in equipment design. Paper presented at the Automotive Engineering Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Michigan, February 2 3 - 2 7 1976. Society o f A utomotive Engineers, Paper No 760078, 1976, 6 pp. The influence of women on equipment design is well reflected in current army efforts to accommodate the female soldier in her ever expanding role. Women have been admitted into all military occupational speciNities, formerly considered 'non-traditional', with the exception of combat related areas. The growing presence of women in the army and their projected utilization have not been sufficiently addressed. Recent army requirements, however, emphazise that the enlisted female must now be equally considered in every respect in all army material design including combat equipment. This paper discusses the need for up-to-date