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Automobiles

Display Design

Design guidelines for automotive head-up displays. Provided specific, quantitative human factors design objectives for automotive head-up displays (HUDs). Integrated available data into comprehensive and explicit design objectives for automotive HUDs. Guidelines were provided for issues such as: symbology design, image size and location, optical design, user interface requirements, and display content. Tutorials were provided for selected topics relevant to HUD design. (General Motors Corporation)

Automotive display guidelines. Developed a handbook of human factors engineering objectives for design of new display systems in automobiles. The handbook was structured for use by human factors, design studio, and engineering personnel on a day-to-day basis. Studies of the user communities were conducted to identify content and format issues of greatest concern. The table of contents included general design issues; display legibility objectives; display lighting objectives; specific objectives for the speedometer, odometer, tachometer, gauges, telltales, etc.; display/control interface objectives; and advanced display systems. (General Motors: Corporation)


Design of Controls

Automobile control standardization. Determined, through experimentation, the requirements for standardizing the location of controls in passenger cars, light trucks, and light utility vehicles. Related driver performance to the degree of controls standardization. Examined results in terms of control function, driver sex and age, vehicle type, expectancy patterns, labeling, control configuration, and panel configuration. (Society of Automotive Engineers)

Human factors recommendations for automobile hand controls. Provided guidelines for automobile hand control locations, actuations, and control types. The research integrated available human factors standards, principles, research data, and recommendations regarding automobile hand control design into a set of specific design guidelines and procedures. A group of competitive 1991 vehicles were surveyed and their hand control characteristics were evaluated and compared to these guidelines. Specific recommendations for hand controls on current Mazda vehicles were provided (Mazda Research and Development)

Automobile transmission control design. Analyzed human and environmental factors pertaining to the characteristics of a floor-mounted automatic transmission selector device, and provided redesign recommendations. The perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor capabilities of drivers were analyzed with respect to shifter operations, and special attention was given to the body sizes and strengths of large men and small women. Recommendations included modifications to shifter grip shape, position, range of movement, resistance, detents, guides and related factors (Ford Motor Company)

Automotive hand control design. Produced a summary of human factors guidelines for automobile hand control locations and appropriate control resistances. Compiled and organized the results of all published standards, principles, research data, and recommendations, and integrated the information into a set of design objectives. Conducted a field study of new foreign and domestic automobiles to identify control dimensions, locations, forces and torques to compare with the recommendations and with planned Chrysler designs. (Chrysler Corporation)

Ergonomic design of transmission shifters. Human engineering design analyses were conducted to determine the optimal locations and travel of automobile shifter grips, as well as their most appropriate shape, size, orientation, texture, and hand clearances. Shifter controls positions and displacements in a range of high-quality automobiles were measured through the use of a three-dimensional digitizer, for comparison with each other, and with ergonomic recommendations. Guidelines were provided for the redesign of shifter locations, operations, and grip characteristics to improve the operational effectiveness, safety, and consumer appeal of shifter devices in passenger cars. (Mazda)

Ergonomics criteria for automotive foot controls. Developed human factors engineering criteria and design guidelines for accelerator, brake, and clutch foot controls. Reviewed the principles and data of control design, behavioral research, anthropometry, transfer of training, and human factors engineering and developed a handbook of design data for use by automotive engineers. Specified throw, size, angle, relative position, resistance, obstruction-free areas and dynamic foot control characteristics based upon available empirical evidence. (Ford Motor Company)


Perceived Quality and Product Acceptance

Control quality program. Developed a program employing psychometric methodology to predict the customer's perception of the quality of automotive features, products, and technologies. The program was designed to identify and quantify underlying reasons for the perception of quality, rather than simply determining preferences for existing features in current automobiles. The result of the methodology is a set of regression equations that can be used to directly predict the psychological dimension of perceived quality of products based upon their physical dimensions and specifications. (Chrysler Corporation)

Preferred features of high-performance automobiles. Conducted an observational research study concerning design and operational features of Porsche sports and touring vehicles. The approach involved observation and in-depth interviews to obtain insights regarding the preferred features of Porsche automobiles, and the motivations and purchasing strategies of new-Porsche owners. (Porsche Cars North America)

Perceived quality of automobile controls. Developed a methodology and data base to assist engineers in the "micro-design" of automobile controls so those controls will be perceived by consumers to have high quality. Correlated engineering design dimensions with subjective guidelines that consumers use in evaluating quality. Translated consumer data into guidelines for design decisions regarding specific physical parameters. (Ford Motor Company)

Pushbutton control characteristics. Designed a series of psychophysical experiments to evaluate the optimal characteristics of pushbutton controls. Pushbutton size, sound, force, travel, detent, and spacing were the independent variables of the experiments. The design permitted the independent evaluation of each variable in terms of perceived quality, and plotting of the distribution of "likes" and "dislikes" so that the range of preferred or acceptable characteristics could be identified (and used in trade-off decisions), rather than a single average "best" dimension. (Chrysler Corporation)

Perceived quality of an automobile head-up display system. This project extended the Anacapa-developed methodology of perceived quality assessments to assist engineers in the design of a new automobile display system similar to that used in fighter aircraft. The intent was to ensure that the design, once implemented, would be perceived by consumers to be that of the highest quality. Engineering design dimensions were correlated with subjective guidelines that consumers use in evaluating quality. Preference data were then obtained during laboratory and driving evaluations of head-up displays. Statistical analysis of the data supported development of guidelines that specified display design criteria. (Hughes Aircraft Company)

Automobile instrument panel design. Designed and conducted research on the expectancies and preferences of luxury car drivers for control types, locations, and arrangements for different types of automotive panels. Assessed three different types of instrument panels and 34 different types of controls. Provided recommendations for design, and for further research and analyses. (General Motors Corporation)


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