Multimodal Cueing: The Relative Benefits of the Auditory, Visual, and Tactile Channels in Complex Environments

Abstract

Determining the most effective modality or combination of modalities for presenting time sensitive information to operators in complex environments is critical to effective display design. This panel of display design experts will briefly review the most important empirical research regarding the key issues to be considered including the temporal demands of the situation, the complexity of the information to be presented, and issues of information reliability and trust. Included in the discussion will be a focus on the relative benefits and potential costs of providing information in one modality versus another and under what conditions it may be preferable to use a multisensory display. Key issues to be discussed among panelists and audience members will be the implications of the existing knowledge for facilitating the design of alerts and warnings in complex environments such as aviation, driving, medicine and educational settings.

Neuroscience-Inspired Design: From Academic Neuromarketing to Commercially Relevant Research

“…Over the past decade or so, the neuroscience-inspired approach has also been applied to the design of a variety of other user interfaces (Baldwin et al, 2012), including those used by pilots (Previc, 2000) and those used in air-traffic control (Ngo, Pierce, & Spence, 2012). One day the same neuroscience-inspired insights might well be applied to enable traders to respond more rapidly on the trading floor too.…”

Dynamic Vibrotactile Signals for Forward Collision Avoidance Warning Systems

“…It has been suggested that such systems present a solution that may potentially contribute significantly to reducing the number and severity of rear-end collisions on our roads (see Kiefer et al, 1999; Tijerina, Johnston, Parmer, Pham, & Winterbottom, 2000; Young, Lee, & Regan, 2008). Research in the area of collision-warning signal design has demonstrated the potential benefits that may be associated with the presentation of auditory, tactile, and multisensory warning signals in alerting a driver and rapidly orienting his or her spatial attention in the direction of the potential danger (for reviews, see Haas & van Erp, 2014; Spence & Ho, 2008a; see also Baldwin et al, 2012; Deatherage, 1972; Gray, 2011; Ho & Spence, 2008; Ho, Spence, & Tan, 2005; Lee, Hoffman, & Hayes, 2004; Lee, McGehee, Brown, & Reyes, 2002).…”

Impact of ambient sound on risk perception in humans: neuroeconomic investigations

“…The idea that professional traders face a trade-off-between improving risk perception during volatility regimes versus during the transition phases between regimes-echoes recent applied research into the optimal use of auditory warnings in complex environments such as extensive care units and military cockpits 31,44,45 . For example, Meredith and Edworthy 45 stressed that users of auditory warnings on medical equipment face a similar trade-off, in that case between avoiding information overload and distraction (if using too many warnings) versus avoiding underutilizing important information sources (if using too little).…”