Human factors engineering tools for amusement attraction design and evaluation

本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，并创造工具来促进人因工程的使用。我们将开发计算机模型来预测骑手“工作量”的超载和欠载，并在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进行测试。我们还将设计，原型和评估各种环境操作，以使游乐景点的虚幻边界与实际安全边界保持一致。对于操作员界面，我们还将设计改进的控件，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，以获得更多的事故HF因素，这些因素应该纳入我们的模型。骑手受伤通常与寻求刺激或无法应对刺激有关。设计工具可以在设计阶段识别骑乘器“工作量”的脆弱波动，从而节省安装后修改的成本以及性能故障造成的人力成本。在没有情境意识（SA）的情况下诱导安全行为的吸引力设计，保留惊喜、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有效和准确的控制性能。虽然不是一个主要的病因，一些显着的骑事故涉及控制操作错误。操作界面设计指导对于游乐设备的设计者来说是非常重要的，对于其他复杂的机械设备来说也是如此。控制室的初步研究对我们规划未来的研究是很重要的。预期的结果。除了专业和学术传播之外，所有项目元素都包括开发和评估设计工具以及行业指导，以确保最终用户可以在没有HF专家帮助的情况下应用这些发现。实用的高频知识转移将帮助非高频专家做出以人为本的设计决策。良好的HF将减少客人的危险行为，提高常规和非常规任务中游乐设施控制操作的速度和准确性，并保持或提高娱乐质量。我们将通过输入国际标准实践并直接向最终用户传播。HF从早期开始就考虑了控制界面设计，但HF文献留下了未解决的问题，涉及防止直接可观察到的复杂多轴运动（如游乐设施）控制中的错误，特别是异常处理和手动控制。骑手行为是高频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幻觉的情况下工作，没有SA，并且适合各种年龄、体型和能力的未经训练的用户。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布的产品，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优质的娱乐，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.