THE EFFECTS OF CONTROL LOCATION UPON PERFORMANCE TIME FOR KNOB, TOGGLE SWITCH, AND PUSH BUTTON.

Abstract : Nine subjects, each restrained in an aircraft seat, operated (with their left hand) each of three controls (knob, toggle switch, and push button) at each of 36 locations. Performance time scores for each of the controls were compared and 'contour maps' were constructed to display performance-location relationships. These contour maps show that the fastest performance time area for all controls is approximately 25 degrees to the left of the midsagittal plane and 25 inches above the seat reference point. The fast-performance area for the toggle switch is considerably smaller than that for the knob or push button, suggesting that the selection of a location for a toggle switch may represent a more critical design problem. An analysis of variance of the performance data provided additional comparisons in terms of the effect of angular displacement and console array distance. (Author)