Evaluation of ecological interface design

Publisher Summary It has increasingly been recognized that operators working in a highly automated large-scale human–machine system may be exposed to cognitively demanding situations in unanticipated emergency. A new display design called ecological interface design (EID) is proposed by several researchers, which they claim is especially supportive in such difficult situations. The EID features model-based parameter selection and graphic presentation, which fit the cognitive characteristics of operators. This chapter presents the results of a comparative evaluation of an EID display. Two displays, one representing the conventional display design (CDD) and another—the EID, were designed for a dual reservoir simulation system (DURESS). A classical dual task design called “odd-ball design” was adopted to induce the P300 component of event-related brain potentials (ERP), which was one of the three mental workload measures used in this study. The primary task was to diagnose disturbances occurred to the modified DURESS, while the secondary task was to count an auditory stimulus. The results of the experiment suggest that the EID display lead to better performance. It tended to enable the subjects to reach the correct diagnosis faster and with less incorrect responses.