The public defense of Taufik Akbar Sitompul’s doctoral thesis in Computer Science will take place at Mälardalen University, room Lambda (Västerås Campus) and virtually on Zoom/Teams at 13.15 on January 12, 2022.
Title: Information Visualization Using Transparent Displays in Mobile Cranes and Excavators
The faculty examiner is Professor Philippe Palanque, IRIT, and the examining committee consists of Professor Susanne Boll-Westermann, Die Carl von Ossietzky University; Privatdozent Andreas Riener, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt; Docent Niklas Rönnberg, Linköping University.
Reserve: Docent Peter E. Johansson, Mälardalen University
Abstract:
Operating heavy machinery, such as mobile cranes and excavators, is a complex task. While driving the machine, operators are also performing industrial tasks, e.g. lifting or digging, monitoring the machine’s status, and observing the surroundings. Modern heavy machinery is increasingly equipped with information systems that present supportive information to operators, so that they could perform their work safely and productively. Supportive information in heavy machinery is generally presented visually using head-down displays, which are placed in lower positions inside the cabin in order to avoid obstructing operators’ view. However, this placement makes visual information presented using head-down displays tend to be overlooked by operators, as the information is presented outside their field of view.
This dissertation investigated the possible use of transparent mediums for presenting visual information on the windshield of mobile cranes and excavators. By presenting information on the windshield, operators are expected to acquire visual information without diverting their attention away from the operational area. The design process included (1) observing heavy machinery operators in natural settings through available videos on the Internet, (2) conducting an empirical study on the impact of different information placements, (3) reviewing the state of the art of display technologies that could be used to visualize information around the windshield of heavy machinery, (4) reviewing relevant safety guidelines to determine what kinds of critical information that operators should know, (5) generating visualization designs that represent critical information in operations of mobile cranes and excavators, (6) involving professional operators to evaluate and improve the proposed visualization designs, and (7) developing a functioning transparent display prototype that visualized one kind of critical information that professional operators considered as the most important one.
The main finding from the observation using online videos suggested that heavy machinery operators spent considerable amount of time looking through the front windshield, and thus the front windshield could be used as a potential space for presenting visual information. The main finding of the empirical study also indicated that presenting information closer to the line of sight produced higher information acquisition and lower workload, compared to when information was presented farther from the line of sight. Based on the evaluation with professional operators, there seemed to be a good match between the proposed visualization designs and the operators’ way of thinking, since the operators were able to understand and use the proposed visualization designs with little explanations. On the basis of the three most important findings above, there is a strong indication that a transparent display, placed on the front windscreen of large machines, makes it easier for operators to perceive and process the presented information.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 764951.