Solutions for
Human factors & ergonomics research
Human factors and ergonomics is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. The main goal is to reduce human error, increase productivity, and enhance safety and comfort with a specific focus on the interaction between the human and the thing of interest.
Human Factors research with Noldus tools
Noldus tools and solutions are traditionally used for Human Factors research in the aviation, automotive, and maritime industry. Especially in time and mission critical systems, The Observer®XT and NoldusHub®are great assets.
It supports complex experiments and gives precise statistics, like task completion times and error rates. It allows you to combine behavioral data and video with physiological signals, eye tracking, sensor readings from a bridge or flight simulator, and more.
Noldus offers plenty of tools for conducting and optimizing your human factors research.
Importance of Human Factors Research in the Maritime Domain
A full ship's crew can be trained and observed at the simulators of MARIN, in which they can be introduced to all kinds of challenging conditions. Debriefing takes place directly after a simulation where their decision making and performance in these 'safety critical' situation can be directly evaluated and improved. Watch the video to learn more about why they like to partner with Noldus.
Ergonomics research with Noldus tools
Ergonomics deals with the relationships between human activities and strain on body and mind. The Observer® XT has excellent system integration abilities, allowing you to study physiological responses, muscle contractions, forces and other parameters in their behavioral context. This allows you to identify in detail which actions and movements are potentially harmful and which are not, thus helping you to improve products and procedures.
Our labs allow you to make synchronous recordings of video, physiology, and behavior, and study all the data together.
The Observer XT
The Observer XT is the professional and user-friendly software package for the collection, analysis, and presentation of observational data.
Researchers worldwide use The Observer XT, professional coding and analysis software, to integrate different data streams, such as physiological data, muscle contractions, video, audio, and more.
"The Observer is a crucial component of our research. It allows us to analyze data with the level of efficiency, detail, accuracy, and precision that's required for behavior analysis in psychological research."
Mrs. B. Gamber|University of Texas, USA
DriveLab
Drivers navigate through ever increasing traffic, sometimes supported by assistive tools and often while interacting with devices and being sociable. This makes it a challenge to predict driving behavior and the effect of driver support systems on driver performance.
Noldus created an innovative research tool: DriveLab, a powerful and custom-built test instrument for understanding driver behavior and evaluating human-machine interface designs.
This tool helps researchers understand driver behavior and the influence of support systems on behavior and performance. It furthermore helps developers in testing how their products are being used and the effect of these products on driving behavior, providing them with valuable information for further improving their designs.
DriveLab has been designed in cooperation with Green Dino, Smart Eye, Delft University and the HAN University of Applied Sciences.
User-mobile device interaction
Are you investigating interactions between users and a mobile device? Our specially developed Mobile Device Camera (MDC) records your user's interaction in HD. Our MDC is compatible with The Observer XT, creating a powerful system for Human-Factors research on mobile devices. The Mobile Device Camera records your user's interaction in HD. It is a small camera you can easily mount on the device. Add the video to The Observer XT for further analysis.
Training and consulting services
Besides training you and your colleagues in the art of usability testing and Human Factors research, Noldus’ professionals can also assist you when performing your experiments or take care of one or more of the stages of the testing process:
- We can set up a test lab in an environment you describe as typical of that in which your products will be used.
- Next, we set up the test itself. Together we identify the relevant characteristics of your users and create a task list, consisting of all key tasks to be performed with your product.
Publications
A diverse collection of scientific articles citing Noldus products are published in renowned journals each week. Below you can find a shortlist of scientific publications in this area.
- Bedon, C. & Mattei, S. (2021). Remote Facial Expression and Heart Rate Measurements to Assess Human Reactions in Glass Structures. Advances in Civil Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/1978111.
- Harari, Y.et al. (2020). Paramedical equipment bags: How their position during out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) affect paramedic ergonomics and performance. Applied Ergonomics, 82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102977.
- Yi, Q. et al. (2020). Identification of trusted interactive behavior based on mouse behavior considering web User's emotions. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 76(102903), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2019.102903.