Ageing-appropriate adaptive electrotactile touch user interfaces in a translatory application

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Thomas Maier
• Subject Area: Human Factors, Ergonomics, Human-Machine Systems
• Term: from 2015 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 277535782

In the field of consumer and industrial goods, there is an increase in functions and audiovisual indicators with a reduction in physical control elements. On the basis of the direct and intuitive manipulation of touch screens, one of the most basic senses of the human being, the haptic perception, is largely neglected. Information about technical products is currently almost exclusively transmitted audiovisually, although other unused channels of perception are available. As a consequence the user is forced to deal with a steadily more complex way of user-machine operation which finally leads to an overload of perceptional and informatory processing capacity. Because of the increasing loss of perceptional and cognitive performance with age it comes to accelerated overload processes.In this research project, the haptic perception channel is examined for its potential relief capacity during machine operation as a function of age. This research project focuses on the design of an electrotactile touch user interface as a function of age and sensorimotor performance. The necessary and not yet existing findings for the function coding of an electrotactile touch user interface are determined in the present research project taking into account the ever increasing flow of information. The visual perception channel, in particular of older people, should be relieved by supporting tactile information transmission by means of multimodal information transmission. Missing design parameters are specified through experimental research aiming at the optimization of human-machine interaction according to the user's age and perceptional limitation to ensure a more comfortable, efficient and effective human-machine interaction.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants