Work Safety

Does gender affect the driving performance of young patients with diabetes?

Recent evidence suggests that poor glycemic control among young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has negative cognitive and physical effects, whose extent is gender-dependent. For example, female patients with diabetes present more physical and cognitive limitations than male patients in terms of cognitive adjustment, quality of decision making, and functioning. Studies about traffic safety report that diabetic drivers are at increased risk of being involved in road crashes, especially when driving in a state of hypoglycemia under which their blood glucose level is too low. We have recently demonstrated that acute hyperglycemia (when the blood glucose level is too high) can also lead to poor driving performance among T1DM young adult patients. Against this background, the objective of the present study was to find out whether gender affects the driving performance of young drivers with diabetes. Twenty-six T1DM drivers participated in a counterbalanced crossover experiment. While being monitored by an eye tracker, they drove a driving simulator and twice navigated through the nine hazardous scenarios: once under a normal blood glucose (euglycemia) level and once high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) level. The first main result is that young female drivers are more affected by diabetes than young male drivers, regardless of momentary glycemic changes. The second main result is that poor glycemic control substantially deteriorates hazard perception and driving performance of young males with diabetes. Thus, it is argued that an uncontrolled state of a high blood glucose level may be more hazardous for young males with diabetes since it negatively impacts their driving performance.

7 versions available

EOG-based human–computer interface: 2000–2020 review

Electro-oculography (EOG)-based brain–computer interface (BCI) is a relevant technology influencing physical medicine, daily life, gaming and even the aeronautics field. EOG-based BCI systems record activity related to users’ intention, perception and motor decisions. It converts the bio-physiological signals into commands for external hardware, and it executes the operation expected by the user through the output device. EOG signal is used for identifying and classifying eye movements through active or passive interaction. Both types of interaction have the potential for controlling the output device by performing the user’s communication with the environment. In the aeronautical field, investigations of EOG-BCI systems are being explored as a relevant tool to replace the manual command and as a communicative tool dedicated to accelerating the user’s intention. This paper reviews the last two decades of EOG-based BCI studies and provides a structured design space with a large set of representative papers. Our purpose is to introduce the existing BCI systems based on EOG signals and to inspire the design of new ones. First, we highlight the basic components of EOG-based BCI studies, including EOG signal acquisition, EOG device particularity, extracted features, translation algorithms, and interaction commands. Second, we provide an overview of EOG-based BCI applications in the real and virtual environment along with the aeronautical application. We conclude with a discussion of the actual limits of EOG devices regarding existing systems. Finally, we provide suggestions to gain insight for future design inquiries.

13 versions available

Evaluation of a dynamic blocking concept to mitigate driver distraction: three simulator studies

In recent years, the number and complexity of in-vehicle infotainment systems has been steadily increasing. While these systems certainly improve the driving experience, they also increase the risk for driver distraction. International standards and guidelines provide methods of measuring this distraction along with test criteria that help automakers decide whether an interface task is too distracting to be used while driving. Any specific function failing this test should therefore be locked out for use by the driver. This study implemented and tested a dynamic approach to this blocking by algorithmically reacting to driver inputs and the pace of the interaction in order to prevent drivers from having prolonged or too intense sequences of in-vehicle interactions not directly related to driving. Three simulated driving experiments in Germany and the United States were conducted to evaluate this dynamic function blocking concept and also cater for differences in the status quo of either no blocking or static blocking. The experiments consisted of a car following scenario with various secondary interface tasks and always included a baseline condition where no blocking occurred as well as an implementation of the dynamic function blocking. While Experiments 1 and 3 were aimed at collecting and analyzing gaze and driving data from more than 20 participants, Experiment 2 focused on the user experience evaluation of different visual feedback implementations from 13 participants. The user experience as rated by these participants increased throughout the course of all three studies and helped further improve both the concept and feedback design. In the experiments the total glance time towards the road was significantly higher in the dynamic function blocking condition compared to the baseline, already accounting for the increase in total task time inherent to the dynamic condition. Participants developed two strategies of interacting with the dynamic function blocking. They either operated at their normal baseline speed and incurred task blockings or operated slower to avoid the blockings. In the latter strategy, participants chunked their interactions into smaller steps with the present data suggesting that they used the pauses in between chunks to look back onto the road ahead. Theoretical and practical implications of this first evaluation of a dynamic function blocking concept are discussed.

6 versions available

Evaluation of students’ gaze patterns, diagnosis speed and diagnosis accuracy when interpreting clinical findings

Time and speed are vital aspects of clinical diagnosis decision-making. This study aimed to investigate the gaze patterns, diagnosis speed and accuracy with and without the assistance of clinical history while interpreting clinical findings. This cross-sectional study employed convenience sampling to recruit 28 normally sighted final year students with ongoing clinical training. Each student was shown six clinical findings, half of which accompanied a brief clinical history in prose, and the other half were not. First, the clinical history was presented to be read by the participants, followed by providing clinical findings regarding fundus picture images. The participants were asked to make a diagnosis based on a clinical finding presented to them. The Dikablis eye tracker was used to record and track the gaze patterns during the treatment. The assessment had no time restriction, and the gaze patterns (number of fixations, fixation duration, number of saccadic, and saccadic angles) were retrieved from theD-Lab software. Diagnostic speed was calculated based on the time taken for the students to provide a clinical diagnosis. Diagnosis accuracy was the score of correct or incorrect of the given diagnosis. Comparison of gaze patterns in interpreting clinical findings with clinical history and without clinical history showed no statistically significant difference for all gaze patterns including the number of fixation (p=0.20), fixation durations (p=0.98), number of saccadic (p=0.33) and saccadic angle (p=0.77). There was also no statistically significant difference in both diagnosis accuracy (p=0.14) and diagnosis speed (p= 0.20) between both conditions. However, there was a strong correlation between the number of fixations and diagnosis speed with (r = 0.708, p < 0.05) and without (r = 0.618, p < 0.05) clinical history. A moderate correlation was found between the number of saccades and diagnosis speed with (r = 0.578, p < 0.05) and without (r = 0.424, p < 0.05) clinical history. In conclusion, a brief clinical history does not appear to influence the gaze patterns, diagnosis speed and accuracy in evaluating the clinical findings. However, the gaze patterns highly correlated with the diagnosis speed in clinical decision-making. These findings indicate cognitive processing during clinical decision-making, which might benefit clinical educators in enhancing the clinical teaching approach and quality.

3 versions available

Evaluation of the optimal quantity of in-vehicle information icons using a fuzzy synthetic evaluation model in a driving simulator

In-Vehicle Information (IVI) features such as navigation assistance play an important role in the travel of drivers around the world. Frequent use of IVI, however, can easily increase the cognitive load of drivers. The interface design, especially the quantity of icons presented to the driver such as those for navigation, music, and phone calls, has not been fully researched. To determine the optimal number of icons, a systematic evaluation of the IVI Human Machine Interface (HMI) was examined using single-factor and multivariate analytical methods in a driving simulator. When one-way ANOVA was performed, the results showed that the 3-icon design scored best in subjective driver assessment, and the 4-icon design was best in the steering wheel angle. However, when a new method of analyzing the data that enabled a simultaneous accounting of changes observed in the dependent measures, 3 icons had the highest score (that is, revealed the overall best performance). This method is referred to as the fuzzy synthetic evaluation model (FSE). It represents the first use of it in an assessment of the HMI design of IVI. The findings also suggest that FSE will be applicable to various other HMI design problems.

4 versions available

Experimental study on panic during simulated fire evacuation using psycho-and physiological metrics

Under circumstances of fire, panic usually brings uncertainty and unpredictability to evacuation. Therefore, a deep understanding of panic is desired. This study aims to dig into the underlying mechanism of fire evacuation panic by measuring and analysing psycho- and physiological indicators. In the experiment, participants watched a simulated train station within which three sets of stimuli were triggered separately. Eye movement and brain haemodynamic responses were collected during the watch, while questionnaires and interviews of emotions were conducted after. The analysed physiological indicators include the amplitude of pupil dilation, the time ratios of fixation and saccade, the binned entropy of gaze location, and the brain activation coefficients. The results of this research indicate that fire evacuation panic can be broken down into two elements. (1) Unawareness of situation: less knowledge of the situation leads to a higher level of panic; (2) Intensity of visual stimulation: the panic level is escalated with increased severity of fire that is perceived.

10 versions available

Eye tracking system measurement of saccadic eye movement with different illuminance transmission exposures during driving simulation

Numerous eye gaze changes of different fixation viewings are involved in driving. In addition, driving is done under various surrounding illuminance conditions. However, the effect of different illuminance transmissions on eye gaze movement was not explored during driving. This study investigated the saccadic eye movement using eye tracking system under different illuminance transmissions during driving simulation. The investigation was conducted on twenty-eight participants aged between 21 to 26 years old with proper driving licensing and experience. All participants had good vision status, with a good history of systemic, ocular, and binocular vision health. Using driving simulation, the participants were instructed to drive as they usually did, and their saccadic eye movement was recorded via the Dikablis eye tracker. The surrounding illuminance within the experimental room provided 100% transmission of 500 Lux, and the illuminance transmission was varied to 50%, 30%, and 15% using neural density filters. Under different illuminance transmissions, the saccadic eye movement showed no significant differences (p>0.05), even with the 15% transmission, both in the number and duration of saccadic eye movement. This showed similar eye gaze change specifically saccadic movement during driving simulation with different light transmissions. It could be concluded that eye gaze movement was not influenced by reduced illuminance when driving.

1 version available:

Eye-tracking assistive technologies for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in the loss of muscle control. For individuals with ALS, where mobility is limited to the movement of the eyes, the use of eye-tracking-based applications can be applied to achieve some basic tasks with certain digital interfaces. This paper presents a review of existing eye-tracking software and hardware through which eye-tracking their application is sketched as an assistive technology to cope with ALS. Eye-tracking also provides a suitable alternative as control of game elements. Furthermore, artificial intelligence has been utilized to improve eye-tracking technology with significant improvement in calibration and accuracy. Gaps in literature are highlighted in the study to offer a direction for future research.

12 versions available

How does navigating with Augmented Reality information affect drivers’ glance behaviour in terms of attention allocation?

Drivers can benefit from Augmented Reality (AR) information especially in ambiguous navigation situations compared to conventional Head-up displays (HUD). AR information is correctly superimposed on the relevant objects in the environment and therefore directly related to the driving situation. Hence, it is assumed, that drivers no longer have to switch glances between the AR information and the environment (Kim & Dey, 2009). It has to be investigated whether switching glances between the presented navigation information and the environment can be reduced with AR information compared to HUD information. Furthermore, the question arises whether AR information might capture drivers’ attention and therefore distract from the traffic situation compared to a HUD as AR information is presented on the driver’s primary visual axis. The aim of the driving simulator study was to examine glance behaviour in terms of attention allocation while participants navigated in an ambiguous left turn situation with an oncoming car in an urban area (N = 58). Hence, drivers were faced with the decision to turn in front of it or let it pass. A conventional HUD and an AR display presented the navigation information to the driver. The drives differed in traffic complexity (low vs. high) to provide indications whether drivers adapt glance behaviour to altered environmental conditions. Besides the navigation task, drivers performed a non-driving-related task to raise drivers’ mental load while navigating. Results showed that with the AR display participants paid more attention to an oncoming car in the ambiguous left turn situation than with the HUD, which indicates that AR information was not distracting. Furthermore, participants switched glances significantly less between the AR navigation information and the environment, which indicates that with the AR display the driver did not have to map the virtual information onto the real driving situation. Independently of the display type 88% of the participants let the oncoming car pass the first time in this situation. Moreover, subjective data showed that drivers benefitted from AR information. The results of this study contribute to the investigation and development of AR user interfaces.

2 versions available

How is emotional resonance achieved in storytellings of sadness/distress?

Storytelling pivots around stance seen as a window unto emotion: storytellers project a stance expressing their emotion toward the events and recipients preferably mirror that stance by affiliating with the storyteller’s stance. Whether the recipient’s affiliative stance is at the same time expressive of his/her emotional resonance with the storyteller and of emotional contagion is a question that has recently attracted intriguing research in Physiological Interaction Research. Connecting to this line of inquiry, this paper concerns itself with storytellings of sadness/distress. Its aim is to identify factors that facilitate emotion contagion in storytellings of sadness/distress and factors that impede it. Given the complexity and novelty of this question, this study is designed as a pilot study to scour the terrain and sketch out an interim roadmap before a larger study is undertaken. The data base is small, comprising two storytellings of sadness/distress. The methodology used to address the above research question is expansive: it includes CA methods to transcribe and analyze interactionally relevant aspects of the storytelling interaction; it draws on psychophysiological measures to establish whether and to what degree emotional resonance between co-participants is achieved. In discussing possible reasons why resonance is (not or not fully) achieved, the paper embarks on an extended analysis of the storytellers’ multimodal storytelling performance (reenactments, prosody, gaze, gesture) and considers factors lying beyond the storyteller’s control, including relevance, participation framework, personality, and susceptibility to emotion contagion.