Our usability lab was opened in December 2003. Our principal interest is not only to examine the usability of hardware and software but generally to analyze the interaction of people with different kinds of technology.

The equipment of Noldus - especially The Observer - is the basic instrument for different tasks. In addition to the Noldus equipment we also use biometrical sensors for measuring skin conductance, blood pressure, pulse frequency and some more. Furthermore we sometimes use different eye-tracking systems.  

Forschungszentrum TIM-Lab
Donau-Universität Krems
Dr. Karl Dorrek Strasse 30
A-3500 Krems
Austria
URL: www.donau-ni.ac.at/timlab[in German]

The usability lab. The observation room with the technical equipment is visible at the front. A semi-transparent window separates this room from the test room, which is visible at the back.  

The observation station. In front of the right-hand monitor a panel with a joy-stick for the pan/tilt control of the dome camera is positioned. The panel left of that is used to mix video and audio signals. Logging events with The Observer is mostly done after the test because we want to be able to adjust the settings after a recording has been made.  

The observation setup. A quad unit on top of the large monitor mixes the signals from up to four cameras.

Mobile Device Camera. To evaluate portable devices, a small wireless Mobile Device Camera is used. The video signal from the camera is displayed on the large monitor.  

In some cases psychophysiological signals are also recorded. The finger clip shown here is an easy to use multisensor which measures skin temperature, pulse frequency, pulse amplitude and skin conductance simultaneously. These parameters are very significant for stress, fear, anger, relaxation and concentration. In usability studies this adds an objective assessment of the feeling of the test person. The three sensors on the forehead measure EMG (electromyography, muscle tension). The surface electrodes can be placed either on the forehead or on shoulders and back of the person.