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Human Factors

Design of effective telepresence technologies – technologies that are 'as good as being physically there' – requires an understanding of the factors influencing the way people interact and behave in such settings.

The Human Factors group ensures that this technology is optimised for its users and the tasks they carry out using it. We are also pursuing more fundamental research into the technical, sensory, social and organisational issues which become important when people work or play together over a distance using advanced computer and communications systems.

We are using a number of evaluative (e.g. case studies) and experimental (e.g. laboratory experiments) approaches for our work:

• We are participating in the [Braccetto] project which is an initiative of the HxI collaboration, investigating distributed intense collaboration in mixed presence settings.
• We have completed a series of experiments exploring the relative effect of different gesture representations when guiding persons in a complex task over distance.
• We are contributing to the Remote Immersive Diagnostic Examination System (RIDES) project of the Immersive Environments group.
• Our team have evaluated the technical performance and success factors of the Virtual Critical Care Unit (ViCCU®), used by clinicians to deliver complex, critical care medical services over a distance.
• We are working closely with the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services and the University of Tasmania in the design, implementation and evaluation of the ECHONET telemedicine system.
• We are collaborating with the Australian Radio, Film and Television School (AFTRS) to evaluate the impact of tele-lecturing.