An Overview of Spatial Stimulus-Response (S-R) Compatibility Studies for Further Human Machine Interface Studies

This paper provides an overview of a series of spatial stimulus–response (S-R) compatibility studies which involved various audio/visual signals and hand/foot controls. The experiments examined the performance of right-handed/right-footed participants for various spatial stimulus–response (S-R) mapping conditions with signals and controls configured in different orientations. The effects of various signal modalities and intra/crossed modalities, crossed/uncrossed hands, single/dual tasks, discrete and continual tracking tasks on S-R tasks were examined. Performance measures including response times (RT), error percentages (EP), root mean square errors for hand and foot tracking (RMSHTE and RMSFTE) for various configurations were analyzed, and the major findings are summarized. The studies had provided useful ergonomics guidelines for designing hand/foot controls and audio/visual displays which are valuable for improving efficiency and performance in human–machine systems. The review also reveals the knowledge gaps left unfilled from past studies and further research directions are then suggested to fill in the gaps of the spatial S-R compatibility studies.