Yes / The development of many tools and technologies for people with visual impairment has become a major priority in the field of assistive technology research. However, many of these technology advancements have limitations in terms of the human aspects of the user experience (e.g., usability, learnability, and time to user adaptation) as well as difficulties in translating research prototypes into production. Also, there was no clear distinction between the assistive aids of adults and children, as well as between “partial impairment” and “total blindness”. As a result of these limitations, the produced aids have not gained much popularity and the intended users are still hesitant to utilise them. This paper presents a comprehensive review of substitutive interventions that aid in adapting to vision loss, centred on laboratory research studies to assess user-system interaction and system validation. Depending on the primary cueing feedback signal offered to the user, these technology aids are categorized as visual, haptics, or auditory-based aids. The context of use, cueing feedback signals, and participation of visually impaired people in the evaluation are all considered while discussing these aids. Based on the findings, a set of recommendations is suggested to assist the scientific community in addressing persisting challenges and restrictions faced by both the totally blind and partially sighted people.

Automated vehicles (AVs) are promising applications of artificial intelligence (AI). While human drivers benefit from AVs, including long-distance support and collision prevention, we do not always understand how AV systems function and make decisions. Consequently, drivers might develop inaccurate mental models and form unrealistic expectations of these systems, leading to unwanted incidents. Although efforts have been made to support drivers' understanding of AVs through in-vehicle visual and auditory interfaces and warnings, these may not be sufficient or effective in addressing user confusion and overtrust in in-vehicle technologies, sometimes even creating negative experiences. To address this challenge, this dissertation conducts a series of studies to explore the possibility of using the in-vehicle intelligent agent (IVIA) in the form of the speech user interface to support drivers, aiming to enhance safety, performance, and satisfaction in conditionally automated vehicles. First, two expert workshops were conducted to identify design considerations for general IVIAs in the driving context. Next, to better understand the effectiveness of different IVIA designs in conditionally automated driving, a driving simulator study (n=24) was conducted to evaluate four types of IVIA designs varying by embodiment conditions and speech styles. The findings indicated that conversational agents were preferred and yielded better driving performance, while robot agents caused greater visual distraction. Then, contextual inquiries with 10 drivers owning vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) were conducted to identify user needs and the learning process when interacting with in-vehicle technologies, focusing on interface feedback and warnings. Subsequently, through expert interviews with seven experts from AI, social science, and human-computer interaction domains, design considerations were synthesized for improving the explainability of AVs and preventing associated risks. With information gathered from the first four studies, three types of adaptive IVIAs were developed based on human-automation function allocation and investigated in terms of their effectiveness on drivers' response time, driving performance, and subjective evaluations through a driving simulator study (n=39). The findings indicated that although drivers preferred more information provided to them, their response time to road hazards might be degraded when receiving more information, indicating the importance of the balance between safety and satisfaction. Taken together, this dissertation indicates the potential of adopting IVIAs to enhance the explainability of future AVs. It also provides key design guidelines for developing IVIAs and constructing explanations critical for safer and more satisfying AVs. / Doctor of Philosophy / Automated vehicles (AVs) are an exciting application of artificial intelligence (AI). While these vehicles offer benefits like helping with long-distance driving and preventing accidents, people often do not understand how they work or make decisions. This lack of understanding can lead to unrealistic expectations and potentially dangerous situations. Even though there are visual and sound alerts in these cars to help drivers, they are not always sufficient to prevent confusion and over-reliance on technology, sometimes making the driving experience worse. To address this challenge, this dissertation explores the use of in-vehicle intelligent agents (IVIAs), in the form of speech assistant, to help drivers better understand and interact with AVs, aiming to improve safety, performance, and overall satisfaction in semi-automated vehicles. First, two expert workshops helped identify key design features for IVIAs. Then, a driving simulator study with 24 participants tested four different designs of IVIAs varying in appearance and how they spoke. The results showed that people preferred conversational agents, which led to better driving behaviors, while robot-like agents caused more visual distractions. Then, through contextual inquiries with 10 drivers who own vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), I identified user needs and how they learn to interact with in-car technologies, focusing on feedback and warnings. Subsequently, I conducted expert interviews with seven professionals from AI, social science, and human-computer interaction fields, which provided further insights into facilitating the explainability of AVs and preventing associated risks. With the information gathered, three types of adaptive IVIAs were developed based on whether the driver was actively in control of the vehicle, or the driving automation system was in control. The effectiveness of these agents was evaluated through drivers' brake and steer response time, driving performance, and user satisfaction through another driving simulator study with 39 participants. The findings indicate that although drivers appreciated more detailed explanations, their response time to road hazards slowed down, highlighting the need to balance safety and satisfaction. Overall, this research shows the potential of using IVIAs to make AVs easier to understand and safer to use. It also offers important design guidelines for creating these IVIAs and their speech contents to improve the driving experience.

Current access strategies for minimal interface (e.g., binary switch) users employ time-coded (i.e., synchronous) protocols that map unique sequences of user-generated binary digits (i.e., bits) to each of the available outcomes of a device under control. With such strategies, the user must learn and/or reproduce the timing of the protocol with a certain degree of accuracy. As a result, the number, κ, of device outcomes made accessible to the user is typically bound by the memorization capacity of the latter and by the time required to generate the appropriate bit sequences. Furthermore, synchronous access strategies introduce a minimum time delay that increases with larger κ, precluding access to control applications requiring fast user response. By turning control on its head, this thesis presents an access method that completely eliminates reliance on time-coded protocols. Instead, the proposed asynchronous access method requires users to employ their interfaces only when the behavior of the device under control does not match their intentions. In response to such event, the proposed method may then be used to select, and automatically transmit, a new outcome to the device. Such outcome is informed by historical and contextual assumptions incorporated into a recursive algorithm that provides increasingly accurate estimates of user intention. This novel approach, provides significant advantages over traditional synchronous strategies: i) the user is not required to learn any protocol, ii) there is no limit in the number of outcomes that may be made available to the user iii) there is no delay in the response of the device, iv) the expected amount of information required to achieve a particular task may be minimized, and, most importantly, v) the control of previously inaccessible devices may be enabled with minimal interfaces. This thesis presents the full mathematical development of the novel method for asynchronous control summarized above. Rigorous performance evaluations demonstrating the potential of this method in the control of complex devices, by means of minimal interfaces, are also reported.

Current access strategies for minimal interface (e.g., binary switch) users employ time-coded (i.e., synchronous) protocols that map unique sequences of user-generated binary digits (i.e., bits) to each of the available outcomes of a device under control. With such strategies, the user must learn and/or reproduce the timing of the protocol with a certain degree of accuracy. As a result, the number, κ, of device outcomes made accessible to the user is typically bound by the memorization capacity of the latter and by the time required to generate the appropriate bit sequences. Furthermore, synchronous access strategies introduce a minimum time delay that increases with larger κ, precluding access to control applications requiring fast user response. By turning control on its head, this thesis presents an access method that completely eliminates reliance on time-coded protocols. Instead, the proposed asynchronous access method requires users to employ their interfaces only when the behavior of the device under control does not match their intentions. In response to such event, the proposed method may then be used to select, and automatically transmit, a new outcome to the device. Such outcome is informed by historical and contextual assumptions incorporated into a recursive algorithm that provides increasingly accurate estimates of user intention. This novel approach, provides significant advantages over traditional synchronous strategies: i) the user is not required to learn any protocol, ii) there is no limit in the number of outcomes that may be made available to the user iii) there is no delay in the response of the device, iv) the expected amount of information required to achieve a particular task may be minimized, and, most importantly, v) the control of previously inaccessible devices may be enabled with minimal interfaces. This thesis presents the full mathematical development of the novel method for asynchronous control summarized above. Rigorous performance evaluations demonstrating the potential of this method in the control of complex devices, by means of minimal interfaces, are also reported.

abstract: Guitar Hero III and similar games potentially offer a vehicle for improvement of musical rhythmic accuracy with training delivered in both visual and auditory formats and by use of its novel guitar-shaped interface; however, some theories regarding multimedia learning suggest sound is a possible source of extraneous cognitive load while playing so players may score higher with sound turned off. Also, existing studies have shown that differences in the physical format of interfaces affect learning outcomes. This study sought to determine whether (a) the game’s audio content affects rhythmic accuracy, and (b) the type of game controller used affects learning of rhythmic accuracy. One hundred participants were randomly assigned in approximately equal numbers (ns = 25) to the four cells of a 2x2 between-subjects design. The first variable was the audio content of the game with two levels: on or off. The second variable was the type of game controller: the standard guitar-style controller or tablet interface. Participants across all conditions completed a pre- and post-test with a system that required them to tap along with repeated rhythmic patterns on an electronic drum pad. Statistical evidence showed better outcomes with a tablet controller with respect to input time error, reduction of extra notes played, and reduction of missed notes; however, the guitar-style controller produced superior outcomes in terms of avoiding missed notes and was associated with higher satisfaction by participants. When audio was present better outcomes were achieved at multiple factor-levels of reduction of missed responses, but superior outcomes in input time error were seen without audio. There was no evidence to suggest an interaction between controller type and the presence or absence of audio. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 2017

Idag ser vi en allt större ökning av eldrivna bilar. Fler länder och världsomfattande organisationer försöker framhäva elbilen för att accelerera dess adaption samt öka dess användning. Denna ökning förhindras bland annat av skillnader i användning av el och tidigare drivmedel som gör det svårt för fossilbilsanvändare att byta till elbil. Problematiken grundar sig i att flera beteenden från användningen av fossildrivnabilar ej är applicerbara i den nya elbilskontexten. Det ökande intresset för elbilar ställer nu nya krav på de hjälpmedel som finns att tillgå i samband med elbilsanvändning. Med dagens utveckling blir allt fler hjälpmedel digitala, vilket ställer krav på dagens designers. Framtidens digitala hjälpmedel behöver tillgodose behov som inte existerat vid användningen av tidigare drivmedel. Vi har genom studien tagit fram designförslag med syfte att stödja elbilsanvändare med element från persuasive design, detta med hjälp av design patterns som format. En prototyp designad efter dessa designförslag har sedan utvärderats för att se hur digitala hjälpmedel kan stödja elbilsanvändare. Studien har skett genom en designstudie med ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt, där vi utifrån identifierade utmaningar har utvärderat den framtagna prototypen genom scenariodrivna funktionstester. Testerna utfördes av elbilsanvändare och fokuserade på deras upplevda stöd av prototypens funktioner. Studien har skapat förståelse om vad och varför elbilsanvändare upplever svårigheter vid användningen av elbilar och hur digitala hjälpmedel kan underlätta för elbilsanvändare att förändra beteende. Resultatet av denna studie har lett till skapandet av fem designförslag som utvärderats, reviderats och presenteras i slutet av uppsatsen.

The main aim of this master´s thesis is to launch a chain tools storage. The main intention of this work is creation of a control program for the programmable logic controller and HMI (Human Machine Interface). My master´s thesis contains optimization of location tools in chain tools storage. Program part consists of software modules which contain different algorithms (optimization of speed of start-up beds, beds approaching the shortest path and optimal deployment tools).

If automated vehicles are to be introduced on public roads, they need to be able to communicate appropriately with other road users. This can be done using various interfaces and by communicating various messages. Previous research has mainly investigated design of such communication for automated passenger cars. It is, however, currently largely unknown how corresponding communi- cation should be designed for heavy automated vehicles. Scania and RISE are collaborating in a research project on what signals need to be displayed for heavy automated vehicles when they get introduced to public roads. This thesis focuses on design of an external human-machine interface (eHMI) that conveys that a truck is operated in automated driving mode. It explored various types of message contents (abstract lights, text, symbols) as well as the effect of placement of eHMI (grille, under windshield, above windshield) and distance on understanding of the message. The emphasis was on the communi- cation to pedestrians in a crossing scenario. The thesis work was split into three design iterations according to the ”De- sign Thinking” methodology. The first iteration investigated the most preferred content types. The second investigated the effect that the screen placement on the truck had on the comprehensibility of the sign with regards to distance. The third and last iteration meant creating physical prototypes of low fidelity corresponding to the concepts from the second iteration, installing them on a truck and then evaluating them on a test track. The final evaluation was of an exploitative character and involved experts in the field of HMI design. The results showed that it was hard to interpret signals based on colors and abstract lights only. Symbols were also hard to interpret and should only be used when there is a standard for symbols for automated vehicles. Using text, on the other hand, made the message more clear and was easier to understand independently of the distance. As for the placement of the eHMI, the results show that there are preferences to using the middle and upper part of the truck.

Interpreting the subtleness and complexity of vulnerable road user (VRU) behaviour is still a significant challenge for automated vehicles (AVs). Solutions for facilitating safe and acceptable interactions in future automated traffic include equipping AVs and VRUs with human-machine interfaces (HMl.s), such as awareness and notification systems, and connecting road users to a network of A Vs and infrastructure. The research on these solutions, however, primarily focuses on pedestrians. There is no overview ofthe type of systems or solutions supporting cyclists in future automated traffic. The objective ofthe present study is to synthesise current literature and provide an overview ofthe state-ofthe-art support systems available to cyclists. The aim is to identify, classify, and count the types of communicative technologies, systems, and devices capable of supporting the safety of cyclists in automated traffic. The overall goal is to understand A V-cyclist interaction better, pinpoint knowledge gaps in current literature, and develop strategies for optimising safe and pleasant cycling in future traffic environments with AVs.

This thesis report, focuses on the automation process of Electrical Substations, with the main objective of integration into SCADA systems for electrical equipment responsible for the operation within substations, these devices have different communication protocols, after concentration information substation SCADA system, the next step to realize is sending data to the regulatory body that is in a remote location away from the substation, this is achieved using communication protocols designed for this function. All this process requires an optimization for the response times to any event that may happen in the substations and with this an optimization in operation of generation, distribution and transformation of electrical energy