Vibro-tactile seat interface as a cueing device for different types of information

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 2013-09, Vol.57 (1), p.1184-1188
• Main Authors: Thomas, Lisa C, Mize, Anthony
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 1071-1813; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/1541931213571263

The objectives of the study were to 1) evaluate how well people can discriminate six different tactors embedded in a full seat pad using different cue intensity levels, and 2) investigate the appropriateness of different levels of tactile cue intensity to information types. Participants’ ability to discriminate tactors, as measured by accuracy (90%) and response time (2.0 seconds), was not affected by intensity level. However, the location of the tactor affected accuracy; discrimination between the two back tactors was more problematic than discrimination between the four tactors in the seat pan or between any seat and any back tactor. As expected, participants perceived lower intensity cues to be appropriate for general information and higher intensity cues to be appropriate for emergency information. It is proposed that tactile feedback could be used within the context of a commercial flight deck to provide a limited set of information. From these initial results, we provide guidance on the application of seat-based tactile cues.