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Knowledge of fundamentals of human-computer interaction resp. usability engineering is getting more and more important in technical domains. However this interdisciplinary field of work and corresponding degree programs are not broadly known. Therefore at the Hochschule Ruhr West, University of Applied Sciences, a program was developed to give teen-aged pupils insights into this area in a project-based learning environment with professional tools. Within the last 18 month this project was successfully conducted several times with participants of different age.
Mission- and safety-critical domains are more and more characterized by interactive and multimedia systems varying from large-scale technologies (e. g. airplanes) to wearable devices (e. g. smartglasses) operated by professional staff or volunteering laypeople. While technical availability, reliability and security of computer-based systems are of utmost importance, outcomes and performances increasingly depend on sufficient human-machine interaction or even cooperation to a large extent. While this i-com Special Issue on “Human-Machine Interaction and Cooperation in Safety-Critical Systems” presents recent research results from specific application domains like aviation, automotive, crisis management and healthcare, this introductory paper outlines the diversity of users, technologies and interaction or cooperation models involved.
Self-driving cars will relief the human from the driving task. Nevertheless, the human might want to intervene in the driving process and thus needs the possibility to control the car. Switching back to fully manual controls is uncomfortable once being passive and engaging in non-driving-related activities. A more comfortable way is controlling the car with elemental maneuvers (e.g., "turn left" or "stop"). Whereas touch interaction concepts exist, contactless interaction through voice and mid-air gestures has not yet been explored for maneuver-based car control. In this paper, we, therefore, compare the general eligibility of voice and mid-air gesture with touch interaction as the primary maneuver selection mechanism in a driving simulator study. Our results show high usability for all modalities. Contactless interaction leads to a more positive emotional perception of the interaction, yet mid-air gestures lead to higher task load. Overall, voice and touch control are preferred over mid-air gestures by most users.