Ergonomics最新文献

While occupational footwear (OF) are designed to protect workers from acute injury, it is unclear whether OF affects worker function in otherwise innocuous tasks (i.e., standing and walking). Twenty individuals attended two sessions, wearing athletic footwear (AF) in one and OF in the other. Perceived discomfort, standing balance and gait parameters were measured before and after a 2-h prolonged standing protocol. Compared to AF, foot discomfort was 46 ± 4% greater (p = 0.020) after prolonged standing in OF. Standing balance was also differentially affected between footwear, with medio-lateral sway frequency increasing by 2 ± 3% when wearing OF (p = 0.020) but not in AF. Prolonged standing altered some gait parameters (e.g. increased stance duration, reduced propulsive force, etc.), but all changes were independent of footwear. Therefore, wearing OF is unlikely to cause any substantial changes in standing balance or gait that increases the risk of overuse workplace injury.

As cycling grows in popularity as a sustainable transport mode in Europe, cyclist safety has become a priority. Advanced Cyclist Assistance Systems (ACAS), inspired by Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), offer potential safety improvements but remain underexplored. This study examines ACAS acceptance among 5,991 cyclists from 19 European countries, focusing on public perceptions and adoption drivers. Participants evaluated various ACAS types-crash prevention, visibility enhancement, environmental monitoring, and post-crash assistance-based on safety, usability, and reliability. Acceptance varied across countries, with higher rates in areas with strong cycling infrastructure. Safety and reliability were universally valued, though gender differences emerged: women prioritised safety and visibility, while men favoured usability and added features. The findings highlight the importance of infrastructure, reliable technology, and awareness efforts to promote adoption. Policymakers and developers can use these insights to tailor ACAS innovations, ultimately enhancing cycling safety and supporting the broader development of smart, cyclist-focused technologies.

This study aimed to assess the risk of biomechanical overload among physiotherapists of an orthopaedic institute using the REBA method integrated with organisational analysis. A preliminary checklist facilitated a detailed reconstruction of work organisation, enabling the quantification of time spent in awkward postures for the entire body and specific body regions. The findings indicate that physiotherapists were exposed to medium and high risk at least two-thirds of their working time. The back and shoulders emerged as the most affected body regions, with peaks at high risk and extensive medium risk. The integration of organisational analysis and REBA proves to be effective for accurate risk assessment. However, a major limitation is the considerable time required. This study underscores the importance of detailed work organisation analysis to support risk assessment in work settings with high postural variability and to develop targeted strategies for reducing biomechanical overload risk.

To explore the effects of sleep inertia (SI) on physiological responses and cognitive performance, this study involved 1-h night-time sleep arousal experiments with twelve healthy participants. The KSS Scale, EEG, pulse rate (PR), blood pressure (BP), N-back test, and LRT Task were tested. The experimental design included a control condition (no intervention) and two behavioural countermeasure conditions (verbal communication and video watching). Results showed that during the first 10 min affected by SI, the EEG relative power decreased significantly by 72.1%, PR and BP increased significantly by 8.1 and 2.5%, respectively. After countermeasures, KSS scores decreased by 14.12 and 28.25%, EEG increased by 50.00 and 19.23%, the working memory increased by 24.32 and 43.24% for two countermeasures, respectively. Besides, cognitive and physiological responses affected by SI and the effects of countermeasures showed significant sex differences. Future research should explore SI effects across ages and develop more effective countermeasures to address SI.

In the current context of increasing levels of driving automation for passenger vehicles, addressing the issue of motion sickness has become a major challenge in the perspective of optimising motion comfort and the ride experience. 30 motion sickness-sensitive participants experienced a 20-minute passenger ride consisting of a series of cornering manoeuvres, with a focus on a visuomotor gaming activity. In a within-subjects design involving two experimental conditions, acceleration-coded seat belt tensions were generated as intervention. It was hypothesised that administering the intervention would result in lower levels of motion sickness severity and reduce postural sway. The tensions significantly reduced postural sway during cornering and met good user acceptance. In addition, significant gender differences were observed. Postural sway was more reduced in female participants, but only male participants exhibited lower motion sickness when experiencing the seat belt tensions as intervention.

Additional contact points in sitting workstations (e.g., backrests, armrests) are advantageous by providing variable posture support, but no research has focused on increased contact points for standing workstations. This study investigated standing postural strategies and muscle recruitment characteristics for both pain developers (PDs) and non-pain developers (NPDs) when additional support was provided for the trunk and pelvis during prolonged standing at workstations. Sixteen participants each visited twice to test standing workstations (with and without the contact intervention) while subjective low back pain (LBP), movement patterns, movement variability, and muscle activation were monitored for 60 minutes. Results revealed that additional contact points reduced subjective LBP in PDs (47%) and triggered additional body movements (lumbar fidgeting: 38%; centre of pressure (CoP) shifting: 46%; and CoP fidgeting: 44%). In conclusion, improved postural stability throughout additional contact intervention encouraged alternate postures and thus decreased subjective LBP.

Touchscreens have transformed digital interactions, but the absence of physical feedback may disadvantage users with reduced tactile sensitivity. This study investigates vibrotactile feedback for touchscreen home appliances to enhance comfort and certainty across young adults (18-55) and late middle-aged and older users (55+), highlighting inclusive design for multigenerational smart-home environments. Using a washing machine touchscreen , 32 participants experienced 28 vibration conditions varying in duration, intensity, and frequency. Mixed ANOVAs indicated significant main effects of all three parameters on certainty (all p < .05). Comfort ratings in the 18-55 group were influenced by intensity and frequency (both p < .05), while the 55+ group showed reduced parameter sensitivity. Settings around 100-200 ms, 0.55-0.70 g, and ∼230 Hz jointly maximised certainty and comfort across groups. This study demonstrates how parameters adjustments can optimise usability for late middle-aged and older users, fostering inclusivity in touchscreen interaction.

In operational tasks involving cognitive processes and visual guided pointing activities, this paper investigated the effects of icon layout types, visual features and text labels on the performance of visual search through eye tracking technology, taking the layout types of the icon (single row, double row, matrix and circular), visual features (round icon, round inverse colour icon, chamfered square icon, chamfered square inverse colour icon and borderless icon) and text labels (with or without text labels) as experimental variables. The task completion time, the total duration of fixation in AOI (Area of Interest) and the number of fixations in AOI were statistically analysed. Experimental results revealed that the combination of without text label, matrix layout and chamfered square icons could help improve interaction efficiency. The research results were helpful in providing a basis for designers to improve the usability of human-computer interfaces during the prototype design stage of software and other related fields.

Initial trust is one of the critical factors that influence the acceptance of and reliance on autonomous cars (ACs). This study identified the determinants of the initial trust in ACs and explored the relationships between them using structural equation modelling. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire to obtain demographic information, personality traits, design features, task scenarios, and human perception factors from 101 participants without prior interactions with ACs. The results showed that the perceived safety (0.716), capability (0.222), and external locus of control (0.101) are the main positive factors fostering initial trust in ACs, while task risk (-0.349) was the main negative factor. Multigroup analysis demonstrated that the respondents' previous experience with driver-assistance systems encouraged the development of initial trust. The results of this study can provide guidelines for the design and promotion of ACs to develop individuals' initial trust in ACs.

The advantages of two-stage warnings have been validated. This study investigated how drivers' expectations of automated driving system capabilities and cognitive load affect their attention allocation and takeover performance when using a two-stage warning system in a Level 3 automated driving system. Thirty-two drivers participated in a driving simulation study. The results showed that drivers under high cognitive load had longer and more frequent fixation on the road, which suggested a cautious attention strategy. The high-expectation group gazed less on the road and got greater lateral deviation and maximum acceleration. Attention allocation of the high-expectation group was similar between warning stages but was more susceptible to cognitive load within the same stage. The two-stage warnings need to be designed to direct drivers' attention effectively.