ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-19DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2734922
Artem Dolhyi, Shi Cao, Azwad Abid, Vasyl Chomko
{"title":"Comparing different manual controllers in an Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft simulator under different wind conditions.","authors":"Artem Dolhyi, Shi Cao, Azwad Abid, Vasyl Chomko","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2734922","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2734922","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The growing interest in electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, supported by advances in aviation and automation technologies, presents new opportunities for urban air mobility. This study examined the effectiveness of three manual control interfaces for eVTOL operation under both wind and no-wind conditions. In a virtual reality (VR) simulator developed in Unity, participants completed vertical and horizontal flight paths using a flight control stick, a steering wheel, and a drone radio controller. Under wind, the flight stick was associated with faster task completion than the drone radio controller, and it was the most preferred controller, while flight accuracy did not differ significantly across controllers and subjective workload did not differ significantly between individual controllers. Cybersickness ratings did not differ significantly across controllers. These findings provide guidance for the development of ergonomic and reliable eVTOL control systems to support future urban transportation.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149009426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-18DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2727005
Gizem Yenel Güler, Daniel Koch, Christina Bodin Danielsson
{"title":"Vision shapes workstation choice: examining the relationship between visual distractions and employee desk preferences.","authors":"Gizem Yenel Güler, Daniel Koch, Christina Bodin Danielsson","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2727005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2727005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Activity-based flex-offices (AFOs) allow employees to choose their desks according to task requirements. While previous studies have examined desk choice in AFOs, the role of visual distractions in shaping these preferences remains underexplored. This study investigates how visual distractions influence employees' desk preferences and identifies spatial characteristics associated with preferred desks. Conducted in an AFO in Stockholm, Sweden<i>,</i> the study is based on 10 observation sessions, 14 semi-structured interviews, and spatial analyses using the Isovist_App, a visual analysis tool based on the volume of space visible from a point. The findings show that employees consistently prefer desks with lower visual distraction: corner desks were associated with broader visual access, desks away from aisles with reduced exposure to surrounding activity, and desks positioned with their backs to a wall with greater visual control. Overall, this study indicates that employees' desk preferences in AFOs are associated with their need to minimise distractions.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148992178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-15DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2730303
Cannan Yi, Xiaofang Yuan, Linhui Sun, Mingming Deng, Qingju Wang, Jun Xie, Ke Gao, Fan Zhang, Yi Ding, Hong Hu
{"title":"Changes in operators' perceived situation awareness during multitask performance under ship motion conditions.","authors":"Cannan Yi, Xiaofang Yuan, Linhui Sun, Mingming Deng, Qingju Wang, Jun Xie, Ke Gao, Fan Zhang, Yi Ding, Hong Hu","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2730303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2730303","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examined how ship motion affects operators' perceived situation awareness during multitask execution. Thirty male participants performed the Multi-Attribute Task Battery under different ship motion intensities. Perceived situation awareness, perceived workload, task performance, and eye movements were recorded. As motion intensity increased, SART scores and situation understanding declined, while attentional demand increased. Eye movements showed smaller saccade amplitudes and larger pupil diameters, suggesting a narrowed visual scanning range and higher workload. Task effects varied by integration level: monitoring remained relatively stable, tracking was highly sensitive to motion, and communications and resource management showed greater degradation despite increased visual attention. Participants with lower performance stability showed greater reductions in perceived situation awareness and less stable attentional regulation. These findings suggest ship motion may be linked to reduced perceived situation awareness, potentially via cognitive competition from postural control and gaze stabilisation, while unstable visual input constrains information updating and cross-source integration.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148978615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-12DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2730308
Sarah Yahoodik, Xiao Yang, Yusuke Yamani
{"title":"Operational hazard anticipation: an analysis of overt anticipatory behaviors in experienced and inexperienced drivers.","authors":"Sarah Yahoodik, Xiao Yang, Yusuke Yamani","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2730308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2730308","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Perceptual-cognitive skills like anticipating and mitigating hazards may contribute to young drivers' increased risk of fatal crashes. Operational hazard anticipation (OHA) is a novel concept that may bridge hazard anticipation and mitigation. OHA is the act of engaging in anticipatory actions in preparation for possible hazard mitigation. This exploratory study examined a potential measure of OHA, hovering one's foot over the brake and accelerator, and its relationship with tactical hazard anticipation (fixating on a hazard). Inexperienced and experienced drivers drove simulator scenarios, with materialised and latent hazards. Experienced drivers engaged in OHA behaviours more frequently than inexperienced drivers. OHA behaviours were more frequent in materialised compared to latent hazards. Participants' average OHA score was positively correlated to success rates in avoiding a collision when the hazard materialised. Findings demonstrate OHA as a skill distinct from tactical hazard anticipation and offer insights into training young drivers to avoid road hazards.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148957173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-11DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2725855
Liu Yang, Xin Zhang, Hui Zhang, Jianqin He
{"title":"Passenger comfort in autonomous vehicles: a comprehensive review of influencing factors, assessment methods, and enhancement strategies.","authors":"Liu Yang, Xin Zhang, Hui Zhang, Jianqin He","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2725855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2725855","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This review examines factors, methodologies, and evaluation techniques for passenger comfort in autonomous vehicles (AVs). Current research in this area is often fragmented and inappropriately extrapolates methodologies from traditional vehicle studies without accounting for the unique constraints of driverless travel, highlighting the need for a comprehensive review tailored to the AV context. Comfort is influenced by environmental parameters, vehicle attributes, and individual passenger characteristics. Methodologies primarily include real-vehicle experiments, simulation studies, and driving simulators, prioritising ecological validity, controllability, and behavioural realism, respectively. Evaluation employs subjective assessments, objective measurements, and hybrid multivariate analyses, enhancing robustness by cross-validating psychological perceptions with physiological data. Current optimisation strategies focus on cabin environmental control, motion planning algorithms, and adaptive human-machine interfaces, while emerging approaches emphasise personalised models using real-time biosignals. Future work should develop adaptive frameworks integrating real-time feedback, advanced simulation methods, and AI-driven personalisation for human-centric AV mobility.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-11DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2723529
Stephen P Allen, Joanna J Chase, Joseph L Parham, Joseph F Seay
{"title":"Biomechanical and performance-related adaptations to repeated lifting and lowering tasks with a passive back-support exosuit.","authors":"Stephen P Allen, Joanna J Chase, Joseph L Parham, Joseph F Seay","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2723529","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2723529","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Back-support exosuits (BSEs) can potentially reduce low-back muscular demand during lifting and lowering tasks. However, most studies assess their efficacy over a single session. We assessed the efficacy of a passive BSE on twelve participants who performed six sessions of lifting and lowering 8 kg boxes with and without a passive BSE. In both tasks, completion time decreased across sessions at the same rate; however, there were no differences in overall performance or comfort between conditions. Without the BSE, peak knee flexion decreased across sessions in both tasks. Comparatively, participants increased peak torso anterior rotation with the BSE and gradually increased peak knee flexion across sessions in both tasks. Erector spinae activity initially decreased 8% while lowering with the BSE but was not maintained. CONCLUSION: Initial muscle activation reductions were not maintained, but gradual kinematic changes suggest ongoing adaptations might become more pronounced with continued use.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-11DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2729414
Alena Mezentseva, Federico Fraboni, Soto Gilbert Kiplangat, Luca Gualtieri, Marco De Angelis
{"title":"Designing a tool to assess design-related drivers of cognitive workload in collaborative assembly systems: a Delphi study.","authors":"Alena Mezentseva, Federico Fraboni, Soto Gilbert Kiplangat, Luca Gualtieri, Marco De Angelis","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2729414","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2729414","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Collaborative assembly systems introduce new cognitive demands for operators due to dynamic human-robot interaction, making cognitive workload (CWL) assessment important for safety, performance, and well-being. Existing CWL assessment methods are often poorly suited to industrial practice, as they are retrospective, intrusive, or insufficiently focused on designable system characteristics. This study presents HERALD (Human-centric Evaluation of Robotics and Assembly cognitive LoaD), a practical indicator-based method for assessing designable sources of potential CWL in collaborative assembly workstations. A two-round Delphi study with experts in human factors, ergonomics, industrial engineering, and robotics was conducted to identify, refine, and evaluate the content relevance and practical usability of key CWL determinants. The resulting tool comprises 11 factors organised into task-related, workstation-related, and robot/interaction-related domains, operationalised through observable indicators. HERALD supports systematic evaluation and design by generating a factor-level diagnostic profile of workload-related design conditions, rather than directly measuring operators' momentary workload in collaborative assembly settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-25"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Collaborative virtual environments: the effects of task component complexity on psychological well-being and the moderating role of informal communication.","authors":"Zhengbei Niu, Ruizhen Li, Jinyi Zhi, Pingping Fang, Tiecheng Ding, Dong Yu, Dongyu Yu","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2729415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2729415","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) are increasingly used for remote collaboration, yet their psychological implications remain underexplored. This study examined how task component complexity (TCC) and informal communication (IC) influenced selected indicators of on-site operators' psychological well-being and task performance in an MR-based CVE. A 2 × 2 mixed-design experiment was conducted with 40 participants in a standardised participant-experimenter remote collaboration setting. Compared with easy tasks, complex tasks significantly increased self-efficacy and self-esteem, reduced situational motivation decay and self-disclosure weakening, and prolonged task completion time, but did not significantly affect error count. IC significantly reduced task completion time and error count and significantly moderated the effects of TCC on self-disclosure weakening and task completion time. These findings indicate that the effects of both TCC and IC are context dependent and shape selected indicators of psychological well-being and performance in MR-enabled remote collaboration.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-21"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148957137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2026.2713126
Qinghe Zhao, Yixiao Chen, Jinghuan Nie, Qing Xiao, Wei Zhang
{"title":"Task-specific physiological signatures of perceptual and cognitive workload under cockpit noise: implications for pilot state monitoring and training.","authors":"Qinghe Zhao, Yixiao Chen, Jinghuan Nie, Qing Xiao, Wei Zhang","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2713126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2713126","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cockpit noise is a common operational stressor that can affect pilots' mental workload and performance. This study examined whether multimodal physiological measures could show task-demand-dependent physiological signatures under cockpit-noise interference, and whether these responses are moderated by flight experience. Eighty-five valid participants from an initial sample of 100 pilots performed a Stroop task and a logical reasoning task under no-noise and 85-90 dB(A) noise conditions. Eye-tracking measures and ECG-derived heart rate were recorded. Noise exposure was associated with increased pupil size and heart rate across tasks. Task-specific patterns emerged: fixation duration increased mainly during the Stroop task, whereas the reasoning task showed strong experience-by-noise interactions in fixation dynamics and pupil size. These findings indicate that combining oculometric and cardiac measures may support adaptive cockpit design, training calibration, and noise-resilient workload monitoring in safety-critical systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148921700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating the effectiveness of roadside auditory warnings in tunnel noise: a staged auditory information processing perspective.","authors":"Yanni Huang, Yiik Diew Wong, Mingtao Song, Feng Chen, Xiaodong Pan","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2026.2725104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2725104","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In tunnels, roadside auditory warnings provide an important safety communication channel for drivers. However, warnings transmitted at the intended volume may not remain clear when reaching drivers. This study examined the effects of broadcast voice, volume, and ambient noise on warning detection, reaction time, speech intelligibility, comprehension, listening effort, and behavioural intention using an audiovisual simulation based on in-situ tunnel recordings. Results showed that the female voice used in this study was associated with better warning detection and speech intelligibility than the male voice. Higher broadcast volume mainly improved detection, whereas high ambient noise reduced speech intelligibility. Speech intelligibility remained low overall and was strongly associated with information comprehension. Higher comprehension was also relevant to higher behavioural intention. Listening effort showed no consistent association with comprehension or behavioural intention. These findings highlight speech recognition as a major limitation and support driver-level evaluation of tunnel warnings.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-18"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148898364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}