Can’t Touch This: Hammer Time on Touchscreen Task Performance Variability under Simulated Turbulent Flight Conditions

As flight deck touchscreen implementation continues to rise, more research is required to understand how task performance is impacted by turbulence. Previous work found that for basic dragging gestures on a touchscreen, performance and usability declined, and workload increased, with rising levels of turbulence. The current study extended on this work by examining common flight deck tasks using various gestures and input methods. Twenty-six participants completed two tasks (panning and number entry), in different formats, at four levels of turbulent vibration (control, light chop, light turbulence, and moderate turbulence). Performance was assessed objectively (time to completion and additional interactions with the screen), and subjectively (workload, usability, and comfort). Across the tasks, increased turbulence negatively impacted performance, overall workload, and usability. Design recommendations are made for how to best implement pan and number entry tasks on a touchscreen in the flight deck.

随着飞行甲板（flight deck）触摸屏（touchscreen）的应用愈发普及，亟需开展更多研究以厘清湍流对任务绩效的影响机制。既往研究表明，在触摸屏上进行基础拖拽手势操作时，随着湍流强度升高，任务绩效与可用性均出现下降，而工作负荷则随之上升。本研究在此基础上，针对飞行甲板触摸屏的常见操作任务，结合多种手势与输入方式展开了拓展性研究。26名受试者完成了两项不同形式的任务——平移操作（panning）与数字输入（number entry），实验设置了四个等级的湍流振动环境：对照条件、微颤（light chop）、轻度湍流（light turbulence）以及中度湍流（moderate turbulence）。研究从客观与主观两个维度对绩效进行评估：客观指标包括任务完成时长与屏幕额外交互次数，主观指标则涵盖工作负荷、可用性与使用舒适度。综合两项任务的结果来看，湍流强度升高会对任务绩效、整体工作负荷以及可用性产生负面影响。本研究最终针对飞行甲板触摸屏上的平移与数字输入任务，提出了最优实现方案的设计建议。