Optimal installation of audible warning systems in the noisy workplace
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Warning sounds are necessary to promptly alert workers of events that can compromise safety. A wide range of strategies, including verbal and non-verbal signals have been used in different environments (Edworthy & Adams 1996; Haas & Edworthy 2006; Edworthy & Hellier 2006). Unfortunately, the use of warning signals in industry is often submitted to intuitive installation practices with little regard to the many factors contributing to an efficient and safe use (Tran Quoc & Hetu 1996). There may also be a mismatch between auditory demands and capabilities in the workplace (Hetu 1994). Failure to react to alarms can increase the risk of accidents.Keywords:
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Warning signs
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Delco Electronics has been involved in the development and production of several collision warning systems in the last several years. The successful implementation of collision warning systems depends heavily on effective human factors design to accomplish two paramount goals. These are: 1) the system must alert the driver quickly, but not startle him while it is orienting the driver's attention toward the location of the hazard; and 2) while the system must identify every potential collision, it must not produce alarms that the driver considers alarms, such as potential collision situation that the driver is aware of but does not need assistance in identifying. Designing a system that never produces false alarms is an impossibility, however, Delco Electronics has adapted a methodology to determine the bounds on collision warning distances, which should minimize the false alarm rate. A series of road tests utilizing human subjects were conducted to carefully measure when, how quickly, and how severely drivers chose to brake when they approached stationary and moving vehicles. In addition, potential collision events were categorized by two criteria, events requiring driver's immediate attention and events requiring the driver to take immediate action. This partitioning was used to configure warnings that elicited appropriate driver actions while minimizing annoyance from false alarms. Cautionary warnings were implemented using audio, visual, and proprioceptive modes. These warning interfaces were designed using data from rapid prototyping tests and human factors guidelines and have been successfully integrated into two FOREWARN collision warning vehicles. This paper concludes with discussion of need to establish international standards for collision warning system interfaces.
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Warning signals are often very simple and monotone sounds.This paper focuses on taking a more musical approach to the design of warnings and alarms than has been the case in the past. We present an experimental pilot study in which we explore the possibilities of using short musical pieces as warning signals in a vehicle cab. In the study, 18 experienced drivers experienced five different driving scenarios with different levels of urgency. Each scenario was presented together with an auditory icon, a traditional abstract warning sound, and a musical warning sound designed in collaboration with a composer. The test was carried out in an “audio-only” environment. Drivers were required to rate the perceived urgency, annoyance and appropriateness for every sound. They also had a chance to talk freely about the different warning signals. The results indicate interestingly that drivers may be able to understand the intended meaning of musical warning signals. It seems like the musical warning signals may prove useful primarily in situations of low and medium levels of urgency.
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This paper describes how there is abundant evidence to support the need for non-acoustical railroad crossing warning strategies. The paper summarizes some of the evidence and attempts to help the reader better understand why vehicle operators fail to heed acoustical warning signals. In many cases and in numerous situations, acoustical warning signals are not unheeded, they are not heard. It is past time to recognize the limitations of acoustical warning devices and to utilize available electronic technology in devising more fail-safe signaling.
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Based on four studies, this thesis aims to explore how to design auditory warning signals that can facilitate safer driving by operators of heavy goods vehicles. The first three studies focus on the relationships between certain characteristics of auditory warnings and various indicators of traffic safety. A deeper understanding of these relationships would allow system developers to design auditory signals that are better optimised for safety. The fourth study examines the opinions of both vehicle developers and professional drivers regarding warning attributes.
One major conclusion is that meaningful warning sounds that are related to the critical event can improve safety. As compared with arbitrarily mapped sounds, meaningful sounds are easier to learn, can improve drivers’ situation awareness, and generate less interference and less annoyance. The present thesis also supports the view that commercial drivers’ initial acceptance of these sounds may be very high.
Annoyance is an especially important aspect of warning design to consider; it can negatively influence driving performance and may lead drivers to turn off their warning systems. This research supports the notion that drivers do not consider that negative experience is an appropriate attribute of auditory warnings designed to increase their situation awareness. Also, commercial drivers seem to report, significantly more than vehicle developers, that having less-annoying auditory warnings is important in high-urgency driving situations. Furthermore, the studies presented in this thesis indicate that annoyance cannot be predicted based on the physical properties of the warning alone. Learned meaning, appropriateness of the mapping between a warning and a critical event, and individual differences between drivers may also significantly influence levels of annoyance.
Arousal has been identified as an important component of driver reactions to auditory warnings. However, high levels of arousal can lead to a narrowing of attention, which would be suboptimal for critical situations during which drivers need to focus on several ongoing traffic events. The present work supports the notion that high-urgency warnings can influence commercial drivers’ responses to unexpected peripheral events (i.e., those that are unrelated to the warning) in terms of response force, but not necessarily in terms of response time.
The types of auditory warnings that will be developed for future vehicles depend not only on advances in research, but also on the opinions of developers and drivers. The present research shows that both vehicle developers and drivers are aware of several of the potentially important characteristics of auditory warnings. For example, they both recognise that warnings should be easy to understand. However, they do disagree regarding certain attributes of warnings, and, furthermore, developers may tend to employ a “better safe than sorry” strategy (by neglecting factors concerning annoyance and the elicitation of severe startled responses) when designing high-urgency warnings.
Developers’ recognition of the potentially important attributes of auditory warnings should positively influence the future development of in-vehicle systems. However, considering the current state of research regarding in-vehicle warnings, it remains challenging to predict the most suitable sounds for specific warning functions. One recommendation is to develop a design process that examines the appropriateness of in-vehicle auditory warnings. This thesis suggests an initial version of such a process, which in this case was produced in collaboration with system designers working in the automotive industry.
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With semiautonomous vehicles and innovative assistance systems flooding the market, the characteristics of warning signals for automotive human–machine interfaces determine their effectiveness and usage. Within the context of advanced driver assistance systems, poorly designed warning signals have the potential to startle and distract drivers. Previous studies have investigated the effectiveness of multimodal warning signals and found that such signals reduce braking times. They are also associated with high levels of perceived urgency. This study aimed to investigate the effects of auditory, vibrotactile, and multimodal warning signals on perceived urgency, annoyance, and acceptability while varying the level of participants’ mental workload and the characteristics of the warning signals (interpulse interval). Results show that, compared with other signal modalities, multimodal warning signals appear to be effective in low-workload conditions but such effect disappears as the overall level of workload increases. These results are useful for the development of an adaptive warning signal system.
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Automated driving may be a key to solving a number of problems that humanity faces today: large numbers of fatalities in traffic, traffic congestions, and increased gas emissions. However, unless the car drives itself fully automatically (such a car would not need to have a steering wheel, nor accelerator and brake pedals), the driver needs to receive information from the vehicle. Such information can be delivered by sound, visual displays, vibrotactile feedback, or a combination of two or three kinds of signals. Sound may be a particularly promising feedback modality, as sound can attract a driver’s attention irrespective of his/her momentary visual attention. Although ample research exists on warning systems and other types of auditory displays, what is less well known is how to design warning systems for automated driving specifically. Taking over control from an automated car is a spatially demanding task that may involve a high level of urgency, and warning signals (also called ‘takeover requests’, TORs) need to be designed so that the driver reacts as quickly and safely as possible. Furthermore, little knowledge is available on how to support the situation awareness and mode awareness of drivers of automated cars. The goal of this thesis is to discover how the auditory modality should be used during automated driving and to contribute towards the development of design guidelines.
Modality (human–computer interaction)
Auditory display
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Siren (mythology)
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Designing appropriate auditory warnings is a well-known challenge. The present work focuses on a new type of auditory warning for within-vehicle use, combining a signal that conveys urgency information with a signal that conveys more detailed information about the urgent event. In the study, three concepts of "combined warnings" are compared. The concepts differ in terms of the sound type used to convey event information. The results support the usefulness and potential of combined warnings. However, using information sounds that are too abstract can have a severe degrading effect on warning efficiency and cognitive effort. Interestingly, these abstract sounds may also negatively impact the user's ability to respond accurately to the urgency level of the warning.
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Safety technology has evolved rapidly in the past few years to become much more driver-aware and automatic. Many of these technologies build upon one another in a good, better, best pattern to provide the safest possible driving experience. It is expected that this system can eliminate or mitigate road accidents due to reckless and careless driving. However, safety or driver-assistance features are no substitute for the driver's responsibility to operate safely. A survey revealed that the warning alarms were turned off by 70% of drivers due to annoying audio characteristics. It is vital to consider frustration linked to an alarm, where it can affect the driver's behavior. It is recommended to identify optimum chime sound characteristics for the driver’s alert and respond appropriately to improve the effectiveness of the auditory signal. In this paper, a review on the identification of the type of warning modality, frequency setting, and warning priority for vehicle safety features technology from the selected vehicle manufacturers are explained.
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