The study aimed to identify and analyse methods for establishing external communication between humans and autonomous/teleoperated machines/vehicles using various Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs). The study was divided into three phases. The purpose of the first phase was to identify and highlight previously tested/researched methods for establishing external communication by conducting a literature review. The findings from the literature review were categorised into six points of interest: machine indications, test delivery methods, HMI technologies/types, symbols, textual/numerical messages, and colours associated with different indications. Based on these findings, four HMIs (projection, display, LED-strip, and auditory) were selected for evaluation in a virtual reality environment for the second phase of the study, which has the purpose of identifying which of the human-machine interfaces can effectively communicate the intentions of autonomous/teleoperated machines to humans. The results of phase two indicate that the participants preferred projection as the most effective individual HMI, and when given the option to combine two HMIs, projection combined with auditory was the most preferred combination. The participants were also asked to pick three HMIs of their choosing, resulting in the projection, display and audible HMI combination being the preferred option. The evaluation of HMIs in a virtual reality environment contributes to improving dependability and identifying usability issues.  The objective of the third and final phase was to gather all the findings from the previous phases and subsequently refine the report until it was considered finalised. Future work includes enhancing the realism of the VR environment, refining machine behaviour and scenarios, enabling multiple participants to simultaneously interact with the environment, and exploring alternative evaluation methods. Addressing these areas will lead to more realistic evaluations and advancements in human-machine interaction research.

It is essential to consider what new technologies mean to the people who use them and the ways in which they are experienced and used. In the context of public transit services in Saskatoon, understanding what the recent changes from a manual to an electronic/automated system means to users and the broader community is critically important to the overall assessment of the service. Investigating users’ lived experiences and interpretations of technical artifacts is valuable to understanding socio-technical relations or the embodied interactions of humans and machines as “technologies-in-practice.” Research into socio-technical relations has primarily focused on large scale technological systems and expert practices while less attention has been paid to “seemingly mundane” technologies or technical artifacts routinely used in everyday life. At the same time, this preoccupation has overshadowed or downplayed the importance of exploring users’ experiences and interpretations of technologies. The goal of this research is to contribute to the sociological understanding of mundane technologies-in-practice and socio-technical relations more broadly. In order to gain insight into this relationship, this thesis focuses on bus riders’ (users) and the community’s perceptions of the Go-Pass smartcard and electronic fare system used by the public transit service in Saskatoon. The perspectives of Go-Pass users and community stakeholders (n=15) were investigated using qualitative semi-structured interviews to gain deeper understanding into the complex relationship between users and technologies. Drawing from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the sociology of technology literature, I propose that a sociomaterial theoretical perspective following a mutual shaping framework offers insight into socio-technical relations. Both critical and feminist technology studies literature has been helpful for developing an understanding of the wider social and political contexts of technical use which underscores this study. In particular, the conceptual insights of “socio-technical assemblages” (Suchman, 2007) and “intra-action” (Barad, 2003) have been helpful tools for exploring agency, subjectivity and power which is key to uncovering the intricacies of socio-technical relations and human-machine interaction. The four main themes emerging from this study were: 1) shifting human-machine roles and relationships; 2) the socio-technical construction of the bus rider; 3) configuring users’ and technologies; and 4) structural issues and social justice implications of technologies-in-practice. The findings demonstrate that the use of this new system is mutually co-constructed by both social and technical factors whereby both the users and the technology inform perceptions and use. There was also the unexpected connection between users’ everyday situated uses, experiences and interpretations of the Go-Pass technologies to wider social-political contexts. There were a number of issues raised in relation to the implementation of the Go-Pass system which had negative effects or unintended social and technical consequences particularly for those most marginalized economically. At the same time, there were important benefits and positive effects on riders’ quality of life and use of the service. Finally, participants’ perspectives have contributed to understanding what the Go-Pass technologies mean to them, the ways in which they are used in practice and the ways in which the mixing of people and seemingly mundane technologies shape relations in everyday settings.

Human-machine interfaces influence both operator effectiveness and machine efficiency. Further immersion of the operator into the machine’s working environment gives the operator a better feel for the status of the machine and its working conditions. With this knowledge, operators can more efficiently control machines. The use of multi-modal HMIs involving haptics, sound, and visual feedback can immerse the operator into the machine’s environment and provide assistive clues about the state of the machine. This thesis develops a realistic excavator model that mimics a mini-excavator’s dynamics and soil interaction during digging tasks. A realistic graphical interface is written that exceeds the quality of current academic simulators. The graphical interface and new HMI are placed together with a model of the excavator’s mechanical and hydraulic dynamics into an operator workstation. Two coordinated control schemes are developed on an haptic display for a mini-excavator and preliminary tests are run to measure increases in operator effectiveness and machine efficiency.

Aufgrund der stetig wachsenden Weltbevölkerung bei gleichzeitig sinkenden Agrarressourcen ist die Automatisierung auf dem Feld notwendig. Die dafür erforderlichen Maschinen, Technologien und Datenströme sind im entstehen und z. T. verfügbar. Jedoch ist die Automatisierung auf dem Feld im Vergleich zur Fabrikautomation zusätzlichen Störgrößen ausgesetzt, die eine permanent verfügbare Eingriffsressource notwendig machen. Der Autor postuliert die Entstehung von Maschinen Teams, die von einem besetzten Schlepper geführt werden. Durch die Führung der zusätzlichen Automaten, in deren Programmablauf eingegriffen werden muss, wird die Komplexität der Mensch-Maschine Schnittstelle zunehmen. Hier ist aber schon eine Grenze erreicht, sodaß zusätzliche Bedienelemente oder weitere Displays keine Lösung darstellen. Als Lösung werden hier Elemente aufgezeigt, die Flexibilität in der Bedienung und in der Darstellung optimieren und so zu einem permanenten Wechsel in puncto Maschinenbedienung fähig sind. An einem realisierten Prototyp werden Technologien und Funktionsumfänge deutlich gemacht.

En pågående utveckling sker inom konstruktionsbranschen där maskiner går från att styras manuellt av en mänsklig förare till styras autonomt, d.v.s. utan mänsklig förare. Detta arbete har varit i samarbete med Volvo CE och deras nya autonoma hjullastare. Då maskinen kommer operera i en miljö kring människor, så krävs en hög säkerhet för att eliminera olyckor. Syftet med arbetet har varit att utveckla ett system för öka säkerheten och förtroendet för människorna i närheten av den autonoma maskinen. Systemet byggs på visuell kommunikation för att uppnå en tillit mellan parterna. Arbetet har baserats på en iterativ process där prototypande, testande och analysering har varit i focus för att uppnå ett lyckat resultat. Genom skapande av modeller med olika funktioner så har en större förståelse kring hur visuell kommunikation mellan människa och maskin kan skapas för att bygga upp en tillit sinsemellan. Detta resulterade i ett koncept som bygger på en kommunikation via ögon från maskinen. Ögonkontakt har visats sig vara en viktig faktor för människor för att skapa ett förtroende för någon eller något i obekväma och utsatta situationer. Maskinen förmedlar olika uttryck genom att ändra färg och form på ögonen för att uppmärksamma och informera människor som rör sig i närheten av maskinen. Genom att anpassa färg och form på ögon kan information uppfattas på olika sätt. Med denna typ av kommunikation kan ett förtroende för maskinen skapas och på så sätt höjs säkerhet och tillit. / Ongoing development is happening within the construction industry. Machines are transformed from being operated by humans to being autonomous. This project has been a collaboration with Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), and their new autonomous wheel loader. The autonomous machine is supposed to operate in the same environment as people. Therefore, a developed safety system is required to eliminate accidents. The purpose has been developing a system to increase the safety for the workers and to encourage trust for the autonomous machine. The system is based on visual communication to achieve trust between the machine and the people around it. An iterative process, with a focus on testing, prototyping, and analysing, has been used to accomplish a successful result. Better understanding has been developed on how to design a human-machine-interface to encourage trust by creating models with a variety of functions. The iterative process resulted in a concept that communicates through eyes. Eye-contact is an essential factor for creating trust in unfamiliar and exposed situations. The solution mediating different expressions by changing the colour and shape of the eyes to create awareness and to inform people moving around in the same environment. Specific information can be mediated in various situations by adopting the colour and shape of the eyes. Trust can be encouraged for the autonomous machine using this way of communicating.

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Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 B42 / Master of Science

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Deutsche Telekom has been operating different communication satellites for several years. DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.) with its GSOC (German Space Operation Center) is responsible for German space missions. Deutsche Telekom and DLR formed a joint venture to build a Ku-Band station for back-up purposes and to provide LEOP services in the Ku-Band for Europe. The station is located at the DLR premises near Munich. The new station is operational since 1998. The aim was to design the system in a way that the operation effort in costs aspects and human intervention is minimized. All operational tasks can be performed besides the routine work of one person at the Satellite Control Center (SCC). The station is remote controlled from different SCCs. The SCC has one consistent Human Machine Interfaces which includes not only the Ku-Band station but also the backup S-Band stations at different locations. This paper describes conception and operation of a LEOP Ku-Band Station with shared users at different sites.

<p>En av Glimek AB:s mest förekommande maskiner är SD-180 som används för degavvägning. Den finns i flera olika varianter. Den enklaste har enbart start- och stoppknapp och en potentiometer för att ställa hastigheten och en mer avancerad variant har en operatörspanel där olika möjligheter till inställningar finns.</p><p>Konstruktionen på denna maskin hade inte uppdaterats på många år och behövde en uppdatering av användargränssnitt, programvara och elkonstruktion. Arbetet har framförallt koncentrerat sig på användargränssnittet till panelen.</p><p>En del av arbetet var att undersöka om det var möjligt att utesluta PLC ur konstruktionen och använda en mer avancerad programmerbar frekvensomformare. Eftersom det blev problem med lanseringen av programvara till frekvensomformaren och enbart en mindre bra fungerande demoversion fanns tillgänglig så var detta tyvärr inte möjligt.</p><p>I arbetet har olika varianter på operatörspaneler utretts. Exempel på flödesdiagram till PLC har också gjorts.</p> / <p>One of Glimek AB's most common machines is the dough divider, SD-180. It is available in many different variants. The simplest has only a start- and stop button and a potentiometer to set the speed. A more advanced version has an operator panel with various options.</p><p>The design of this machine had not been updated in many years and needed an update of the user interface, software and electrical construction. The thesis has mainly concentrated on the human machine interface.</p><p>A part of the work was to investigate whether it was possible to exclude the PLC from the design and use a more powerful and programmable frequency inverter.Unfortunately problems arose with the release of the software for the frequency converter. Only a demo version of the software where available and it was not possible to this study because of that.</p><p>Different variants of human machine interface have been investigated. An example flowchart diagram to the PLC has also been made.</p>