EID for Understanding and Visualizing Mathematical Concepts 2008-present

This project looks at how an ecological approach could improve the learning of mathematical concepts. This project will explore how visualizations, implemented in mathematical software can improve how well people understand math.

Control of Attention through Controlled Salience Displays 2007-present

This multi-year study investigates the smaller but just as critical design details of computer display design. How should graphic objects be designed? Are objects best displayed on black or grey backgrounds? How much color should be used and where?

Cognitive Work Analysis for Teams (CWAT) 2008-2012

Cognitive Work Analysis has been a successful method for understanding the cognitive work of single operators in complex situations. The objective of this project is develop the theoretical underpinnings of understanding team cognitive work within this framework.

Ecological Interface Design for Team Situation Awareness 2008-2012

Historically, we performed the first study of EID in teams (Garabet et al 2005). We also conducted one of the most thorough studies of EID and Situation Awareness (Burns et al 2008). This project builds on both of these directions by exploring whether EID can support of improve Team Situation Awareness. The theoretical framework for this work will be CWAT.

Ecological Interface Design for Sonobuoy Systems - 2006 to 2007
Over the last few decades, sonar technology has improved significantly in sensors and processing techniques; however, there has been little changes in the displays for sonar data in the military since World War I. This project focuses on the air-borne sonobuoy system, applying EID to the analysis and design of their interface. Two seperate domains were modeled: the domain of sonobuoy management and the domain of tactical situation awareness. Design efforts were made based on the information requirements extracted from these domains. More »

Improving Labelling of Pharmaceutical Containers for Injection - 2006 to 2008
The project aims to improve the labelling of injectable pharmaceutical containers. Existing labels for injectable pharmaceutical containers, specifically ampoules and vials, were evaluated against the Health Canada regulations and the standard developed by the CSA International. A FMEA was performed on the label reading process to identify potential human errors in the process and prioritize their criticality. Based on the results of FMEA, improved label designs will be developed and evaluated via user testing. More »

Auditory-Echolocation Interface Project - 2006 to 2008
Individuals with visual impairments have difficulty localising in unknown environments. Localisation can be attained through downconverted ultrasound echoes in the auditory domain, thus echolocation by ultrasound. The largest hurdle to overcome when developing devices for visually impaired individuals is the inability to provide sufficient information in a meaningful manner. More »

EID and Operator SA in Nuclear Power Plants - 2005 to 2007
This project was part of the OECD Halden Reactor Project carried out in conjuction with the Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) and the Cognitive Engineering Laboratory at the University of Toronto. As new technologies are introduced into the nuclear industry, there is increasing interest in replacing existing hardwired monitoring systems in nuclear power plant control rooms with innovative human-machine interface (HMI) graphical displays. However, investigations into past accidents at nuclear generating facilities have identified human performance limitations arising from HMI design as one of the most important factors in plant safety. Ecological Interface Design (EID) is a design framework for HMI graphical displays that attempts to support operator performance for both anticipated and unanticipated events, which are often precursors to serious accidents. More »

CARDIO Project - 2004 to 2006
This project developed a mobile decision support tool for cardiac care nursing coordinators doing telephone triage. The support included patient care algorithms, research evidence, electronic record keeping, advanced display ideas, and a mobile drug database. A two month field trial of the support tool showed it was readily adopted, gave useful advice, and supported the triage task well. More »

Mobile EID for Diabetes Management - 2002 to 2005
The mobile EID (mEID) diabetes management project involved the design and development of a mobile application to help diabetics better visualize elements of their condition, thus improving understanding and management. Variables such as blood glucose and plasma were identified at each level of the Abstraction Hierarchy in the Work Domain Analysis (WDA). The information requirements extracted from the WDA were subsequently used to design the mobile information displays for the application. A usability evaluation of the application revealed that users performed more efficiently with modified task-based mEID displays vs. mEID displays alone. More »

Simulated Tank Behaviour with WDA - 2003 to 2005
This project used a form of cognitive task analysis called work domain analysis to develop a constraint based model of the environment that armoured tanks must manoeuver. The environment model was combined with artificial intelligence techniques to create a reasonably robust simulation of tank behaviour. The goal was to have the tank simulate flexible human decision making and proof of concept evaluations demonstrated that simulation was reasonable. More »

TCAS Display Project - 2002 to 2004
This project demonstrated how very simple graphic information support for a common collision avoidance system (the TCAS system) can improve how well people can avoid aircraft collisions. The graphic support was based on visualizations of time and distance of approaching aircraft. More »

Enhancing Highway-In-The-Sky Displays with Advanced Display Concepts - 2002 to 2003
This project examined two display concepts, the Highway in the Sky (HITS) display and advanced display concepts in combination. The HITS display provides a tunnel that pilots can fly through, thereby maintaining their altitude and position more accurately. The weakness of the HITS display is that pilots can lose their sense of time in the tunnel and get off track with their flight progress. In this project, advanced display concepts to show speed time and distance were developed to supplement the HITS display. Research showed that the additional display concepts improved flying performance, particularly in windy conditions. More »

Display Concepts for Network Management - 2002 to 2003
This project (now completed) developed a three dimensional world for managing complex computer networks. The project focused on visualizations of network health, device health, real and virtual network structures. More »