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Effects of vertical vibration on passenger activities: Writing and drinking

Effects of vertical vibration on passenger activities: Writing and drinking
Effects of vertical vibration on passenger activities: Writing and drinking

Two laboratory studies have investigated how handwriting ability and holding a cup of liquid depend on the characteristics of whole-body vertical vibration. The effects of vibration magnitude (0.16 to 2.5 ms−2 r.m.s.), vibration frequency (0.5 to 10 Hz), and vibration duration (2 cycles to 10 s) on handwriting were studied with 20 subjects. Subjects were asked to copy letters of the alphabet by writing on a hand-held surface. Writing speed decreased and subjective ratings of writing difficulty increased with increasing vibration magnitude, particularly in the frequency range 4 to 8 Hz. Writing difficulty also increased with increasing duration of vibration. A 10 s exposure to 5 Hz vibration at 20 ms−2 r.m.s. resulted in subjective estimates corresponding to ‘extremely difficult’. The effects of vibration magnitude (0.63 to 1.6 ms−2 r.m.s.), vibration frequency (0-5 to 10 Hz), and vibration duration (2 cycles to 10 s) on the spilling of liquid from a hand-held cup were also investigated in a group of 20 subjects. The probability of spilling the liquid, the quantity of liquid spilt, and subject's estimates of the probability of spillage were determined for all conditions. Greatest interference with the task occurred at 4 Hz, with the lowest vibration magnitude (0.63 ms−2 r.m.s.) causing measured and estimated spillage probabilities of approximately 85%. The interference was much less at other frequencies, with 0.63 ms−2 r.m.s. causing less than 10% measured probability of spillage below 3 Hz and above 5 Hz. The estimated probability of spillage was generally greater than the observed probability of spillage when the spillage probability was low, but less than the observed probability when the spillage probability was high. Increasing the duration of vibration increased the probability of spillage, and also increased the volume of liquid spilt.

Grasping ability, Handwriting ability, Task difficulty, Whole-body vibration
0014-0139
1313-1332
Corbridge, Colin
7a096665-2ad3-460b-ac74-77d5b6b7cfad
Griffin, Michael J.
24112494-9774-40cb-91b7-5b4afe3c41b8
Corbridge, Colin
7a096665-2ad3-460b-ac74-77d5b6b7cfad
Griffin, Michael J.
24112494-9774-40cb-91b7-5b4afe3c41b8

Corbridge, Colin and Griffin, Michael J. (1991) Effects of vertical vibration on passenger activities: Writing and drinking. Ergonomics, 34 (10), 1313-1332. (doi:10.1080/00140139108964870).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Two laboratory studies have investigated how handwriting ability and holding a cup of liquid depend on the characteristics of whole-body vertical vibration. The effects of vibration magnitude (0.16 to 2.5 ms−2 r.m.s.), vibration frequency (0.5 to 10 Hz), and vibration duration (2 cycles to 10 s) on handwriting were studied with 20 subjects. Subjects were asked to copy letters of the alphabet by writing on a hand-held surface. Writing speed decreased and subjective ratings of writing difficulty increased with increasing vibration magnitude, particularly in the frequency range 4 to 8 Hz. Writing difficulty also increased with increasing duration of vibration. A 10 s exposure to 5 Hz vibration at 20 ms−2 r.m.s. resulted in subjective estimates corresponding to ‘extremely difficult’. The effects of vibration magnitude (0.63 to 1.6 ms−2 r.m.s.), vibration frequency (0-5 to 10 Hz), and vibration duration (2 cycles to 10 s) on the spilling of liquid from a hand-held cup were also investigated in a group of 20 subjects. The probability of spilling the liquid, the quantity of liquid spilt, and subject's estimates of the probability of spillage were determined for all conditions. Greatest interference with the task occurred at 4 Hz, with the lowest vibration magnitude (0.63 ms−2 r.m.s.) causing measured and estimated spillage probabilities of approximately 85%. The interference was much less at other frequencies, with 0.63 ms−2 r.m.s. causing less than 10% measured probability of spillage below 3 Hz and above 5 Hz. The estimated probability of spillage was generally greater than the observed probability of spillage when the spillage probability was low, but less than the observed probability when the spillage probability was high. Increasing the duration of vibration increased the probability of spillage, and also increased the volume of liquid spilt.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 8 May 1991
Published date: 1991
Keywords: Grasping ability, Handwriting ability, Task difficulty, Whole-body vibration
Organisations: Human Factors Research Unit

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 408563
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/408563
ISSN: 0014-0139
PURE UUID: 6e9135db-b177-4977-8ae4-7b00f2568a54
ORCID for Michael J. Griffin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0743-9502

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Date deposited: 23 May 2017 04:03
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 12:23

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Contributors

Author: Colin Corbridge
Author: Michael J. Griffin ORCID iD

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