Generation of visual fields for ergonomic design and evaluation

Among numerous factors that have an effect on the visual field, the effects of background conditions on the size of the visual field were investigated to obtain more practical visual fields that can be readily applicable to i ndustrial settings. An experiment was conducted, in which the subject was i nstructed to search for a target with distinct orientations. Size contrast, nontarget density, and meridian, as experimental variables, showed a signi ficant effect on the size of the visual field at alpha = 0.01. The size of the three types of visual fields; stationary, eye, and head and eye fields, was linearly proportional to size contrast, and inversely proportional to nontarget density. The size of the visual fields on the horizontal axis was larger than that on the vertical axis, and the size of the head and eye he ld on the right meridian was also larger than that on the left meridian. Th e shape was found to be horizontally oriented oval and statistically non-sy mmetric with respect to both horizontal and vertical axes. The regression e quations to predict the visual fields on the given background condition wer e suggested. The visual fields suggested in the study would be valuable to the design of visual displays and the panel layout of various displays and controls. Relevance to industry Guidelines to the design of displays, controls, and panel layouts are of gr eat importance to designers in order to provide an ergonomically sound work ing environment to operators. In addition to the operator's anthropometry a nd task geometry, design factors that ensure proper interfaces would be a k ey element to successful design. Among the factors, operator's visual field has rarely been suggested in a practically applicable format. This study p rovides the designer with useful guidelines to the interface design of visu al displays and panel layouts. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.