Human factors engineering tools for amusement attraction design and evaluation

该研究计划的目标是识别，开发和评估人因工程（HF）在游乐园和嘉年华领域的应用，并创建工具来促进HF的使用。我们将开发计算机模型来预测骑手“工作负荷”的过载和欠载，并在我们的NSERC资助的混合现实沉浸式运动模拟器（MIMS）设施中模拟虚拟游乐设施来测试这些模型。我们还将设计，原型，并评估各种环境的操纵，使游乐设施的虚幻边界与真实的安全边界保持一致。对于操作员界面，我们也将设计改进的控制，以捕捉直接操作的直观性，并使用模型和原型实验评估对操作性能的速度和准确性的影响，我们将开始研究使用控制室的主要景点的控制任务和界面。作为补充，我们将继续分析娱乐事故数据，以更深入地了解应该纳入我们模型的事故HF元素。 . 重要性骑手受伤通常与寻求刺激或未能应对刺激有关。在设计阶段识别驾驶员“工作量”的脆弱波动的设计工具可以节省安装后修改的成本以及性能故障的人力成本。景点设计，没有情况意识（SA），保持惊喜，错觉和迷失方向，将提高吸引力的质量和安全性。其他领域可能能够应用类似的方法来补充SA。 更直观的控制界面将促进高效和准确的控制性能。虽然不是主要病因，但一些值得注意的游乐设施事故涉及控制操作错误。操作员界面设计指南对游乐设备的设计人员非常重要，也与其他复杂的机械设备有关。对控制室的初步研究对我们规划未来的研究很重要。 . 预期成果。除了专业和学术传播外，所有项目要素还包括开发和评估设计工具和行业指南，以确保最终用户可以在没有HF专家帮助的情况下应用研究结果。实用的高频知识转移将帮助非高频专家的专业人员做出良好的以人为本的设计决策。良好的高频将减少游客的危险行为，提高常规和非常规任务中游乐设备控制操作的速度和准确性，并保持或提高娱乐质量。我们将通过对国际标准做法的投入并直接向最终用户传播。 . 效益HF从最早的时候就考虑了控制接口设计，但HF文献在防止直接可观察的复杂多轴运动（如游乐设施）控制错误方面留下了未回答的问题，特别是对于异常处理和手动控制。 骑手行为是HF的一个复杂而新颖的应用。提高人类表现的一种常见方法是改进SA，但娱乐设计需要在没有SA的情况下，针对各种年龄、体型和能力的未经训练的用户，尽管存在幻觉，也能工作。因此，该项目将扩展高频设计策略。 许多加拿大人在娱乐行业工作，提供服务和生产广泛分销的产品，为加拿大和世界各地的家庭提供愉快的休闲体验。设计质量和效率的提高将使制造商在经济上受益，他们的客户将选择更多可用的产品，运营商可以更可靠地提供出色的娱乐，最重要的是，保护公众的健康和安全。

The goal of this research program is to identify, develop, and evaluate applications of human factors engineering (HF) to the amusement park and carnival domain and create tools to promote use of HF. We will develop computer models to predict overloads and under-loads in rider “workload” and test these with virtual amusement rides modelled in our NSERC-funded Mixed-reality Immersive Motion Simulator (MIMS) facility. We will also design, prototype, and evaluate various environmental manipulations to align illusory boundaries of amusement attractions with real safety boundaries. For operator interfaces, we will also design modified controls to capture intuitiveness of direct manipulation and experimentally evaluate effect on speed and accuracy of operation performance using models and prototypes, and we will begin to study control tasks and interfaces in major attractions that use control rooms. Complementing this, we will continue to analyze amusement accident data to acquire more insight into HF elements of accidents that should be incorporated in our models. . Importance. Rider injuries are often linked to thrill-seeking or failed coping with thrill. Design tools that identify vulnerable fluctuations in rider “workload” in the design stage can save costs of post-installation modifications as well as human cost of performance failure. Attraction design that elicits safe behaviour without situation awareness (SA), preserving surprise, illusion, and disorientation, will improve attraction quality and safety. Other domains might be able to apply similar approaches to complement SA. Control interfaces that are more intuitive will promote efficient and accurate control performance. While not a predominant etiology, some notable ride accidents have involved control operation errors. Operator-interface design guidance will be important to designers of amusement devices and will also be relevant to other complex mechanical equipment. Initial studies of control rooms will be important to us to plan future research. . Anticipated outcomes. In addition to professional and scholarly dissemination, all of the project elements include developing and evaluating design tools and guidance for industry, to ensure end users can apply the findings without HF specialist assistance. Practical HF knowledge transfer will help professionals who are not HF specialists make good human-centred design decisions. Good HF will reduce hazardous behaviour by guests, improve speed and accuracy of ride control operation in routine and non-routine tasks, and maintain or improve quality of amusement. We will disseminate through input to international standard practices and directly to end users. . Benefits. HF has considered control interface design from its earliest days, but the HF literature has left unanswered questions in relation to prevention of mistakes in control of directly observable complex multi-axial motion such as rides, particularly for exception handling and manual control. Rider behaviour is a complex and novel application of HF. A common approach to human performance improvement is improved SA, but amusement design needs to work despite illusions, without SA, and for untrained users of a wide range of ages, sizes, and abilities. Thus, this project will expand HF design strategies. Many Canadians work in the amusement sector delivering services and producing widely distributed products that make enjoyable leisure experiences for families in Canada and around the world. Improvements in the quality and efficiency of design will economically benefit manufacturers whose customers will choose more usable products, operators who can deliver excellent entertainment more reliably, and most importantly, protect the health and safety of the public.