Human Factors Guidance for Designers of Interactive 3D and Games-Based Training Systems Human Factors Guidance for Designers of Interactive 3D and Games-Based Training Systems This work is part-funded by the Human Dimension and Medical Sciences Domain of the UK Ministry of Defence Scientific Research Programme, and was initiated by the Domain Leader. Copyright BAE Systems 2012. All rights reserved. Created by BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd on behalf of the HFI DTC consortium. The HFI DTC consortium consists of BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, Cranfield University, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, SEA, the University of Southampton and the University of Birmingham. The authors of this Handbook have asserted their moral rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the authors of this work. Please note that due to the size and format of this Handbook, pictures and diagrams are for illustrative purposes only. Edition 2 (V2) (February, 2012) Professor Robert J. Stone Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre. Director, Human Interface Technologies Team, University of Birmingham (UK) Unless otherwise stated images © HFIDTC PART ONE – HUMAN FACTORS, SIMULATION & VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS 02 1 INTRODUCTION 03 2 DOCUMENT SCOPE – QUALIFYING COMMENTS 06 3 FIDELITY 07 3.1 Task Fidelity 08 3.2 Context Fidelity 09 3.2.1 Avatars 10 3.3 Hypo- and Hyper-Fidelity 10 3.4 Interactive Technology Fidelity 11 3.4.1 “Non-Traditional” Interfaces 11 3.4.2 Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) 13 Health and Safety Guidelines 1 15 Health and Safety Guidelines 2 16 3.4.3 “Enclosure”-Based Display & Interaction Systems 17 3.4.4 Haptic “Displays” 19 3.4.5 Olfactory “Displays” 20 3.4.6 Mobile / Portable Technologies 23 4 PART ONE – CONCLUDING STATEMENTS 25 5 REFERENCES (Sections 1 to 3) 26 PART TWO – CASE STUDIES 28 6 MEDICAL (CIVILIAN & DEFENCE) 1. Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills Trainer 29 2. Mastoidectomy Simulator 31 3. Interactive Trauma Trainer 33 4. PTSD Therapy Support Tool 35 5. Virtual Restorative Environment Tool 39 7 NAVAL 6. Close-Range 20 and 30mm Weapons System Trainer 43 7. Minigun “Desktop” Trainer 47 8. SubSafe 1 49 9. SubSafe 2 53 10. Submarine Rescue (“Virtual LR5”) 55 11. Initial Warfare Officer Performance Capture Tool & Rules of the Road 57 12. Defence Diving Situational Awareness Trainer 59 13. Integrated Subsea Visualisation Concept 63 14. Type 26 Design Review 65 8 LAND 15. Counter-IED Rural 67 16. Counter-IED Urban 1 69 17. Counter-IED Urban 2 (EODSim) 71 18. Afghanistan /Market Village Scenario 73 19. Cutlass Manipulator Familiarisation Tool 75 9 AIR 20. Tornado Avionics Maintenance Trainer 77 21. Helicopter Voice Marshalling 79 22. Helicopter Brownout 83 10 CIVILIAN 23. Virtual Scylla 87 ABBREVIATIONS 89 A BOUT THE A UTHOR 90 FOREWORD FOREWORD by Dr Dai Morris - Head of Joint Training, Evaluation and Simulation Capability Over the last decade the commercial sector It is therefore essential that MoD considers an impressive set of over twenty case has made substantial investments in both the utility of these technologies for studies to determine how best to use these hardware and software to support the applications such as training so as to technologies to develop effective training development of ever more immersive and leverage the commercial investment applications. From these case studies he realistic virtual environments. In these and deliver more cost-effective training has collated his findings into practical, environments people ‘play’ games, either systems in defence. The Strategic Defence Human Factors guidance that can be alone or with others across networks, and and Security Review (2010) highlighted used by all those involved in the design of use technologies to interact with systems the potential benefits of using more training systems utilising 3D and games- that only a few years ago would have simulation within training to reduce the based technologies. I am confident that been the exclusive preserve of research ever-increasing costs of military training. this Second Edition of the document will laboratories. For example, motion capture In moving from live training to increased be as well received as the First, published systems that are now to be found in many use of simulation, we in MoD must examine in 2008. It supports MoD in acting as an homes, allow users to interact in virtual such technologies carefully to determine intelligent customer for many of the new environments much as they would in the how they may best be used to support the developments available from industry. real world. As the interaction technology development of military capability. Professor Stone’s erudite approach to the has become more sophisticated, the topic and clear exposition of the benefits visual environments themselves have However, we must avoid being seduced and potential pitfalls of using these become more realistic, incorporating new by the superficial attraction of such technologies in this updated document ‘3D’ displays. The behaviour of entities in technologies – the very properties that provides much needed guidance and virtual environments, such as avatars, are make them appealing to consumers. Some promotes understanding of this complex being driven by increasingly sophisticated of the features which make technologies and dynamic area. artificial intelligence techniques designed attractive in the retail market are very to replicate the behaviours exhibited by relevant to defence applications, but others individuals, groups, and even crowds. The are not and we must maintain a clear view drive for increasing realism and enhanced of the most important factors in providing user experience/satisfaction continues tools that are suitable for training military to stimulate innovation in this rapidly tasks. As part of this systematic evaluation advancing field. process Professor Stone has undertaken PART ONE - HUMAN FACTORS, SIMULATION & VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS1 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Figure 1: A Typical Virtual Reality Set-Up The first edition of the Human Factors (HF) capture suits, and multi-screen rooms or national and international armed forces. Guidelines for Interactive 3D (i3D) and “Cave Automatic Virtual Environments” At the present time, and in part due to the Games-Based Training Systems Design, (CAVEs). By the end of the 20th Century, mistakes of the closing decade of the 20th published in 2008 by the present author, VR was to render the keyboard, mouse, Century, newcomers to the games-based was distributed nationally and joystick and computer monitor redundant, in training arena, not to mention those who internationally and made available on the favour of sophisticated interfaces and were misled into investing into the VR Human Factors Integration Defence multi-sensory 3D environments that would technology of the 1990s, are demanding Technology (HFI DTC) Website (www.hfidtc. support “natural” human interaction within – quite rightly – business cases based on com; Stone, 2008). The motivation for a 3D computer-generated world. Such sound evidence (which includes examples publishing such a document came about interaction, accompanied by a “sense of of successful uptake elsewhere) and due to a realisation that technology push belief” on the part of the user in the financial justification, particularly important was, once again, dominating a rapidly environment in which he or she was in today’s climate of financial austerity. growing branch of the Synthetic “present”, was labelled “immersion” – a Environments (SE) community, whilst term that is misused as much today as it So, what of the evidence? It is fair to say market pull and, more importantly, the was in the 1980s and 90s. However, that pockets of evidence are emerging needs, capabilities and limitations of the despite sizeable early investment, national (albeit very slowly) that support the human user were being relegated to an initiatives, expensive (and unexploited) exploitation of “Serious Games” (and, “also ran” status in procurement and international collaborative projects and the indeed, games in general) in training and delivery processes. widespread rise of so-called centres of education. Increasingly, examples of academic excellence, VR delivered very articles presenting laboratory-based The inclusion of the words “once again” in little of use to the world of interactive media, experimental results of games-based the preceding sentence is important and let alone the defence training sector. simulation and training studies are relates specifically (but not exclusively) to appearing regularly in high-impact the exploitation of games-based To those who were involved in the VR era, academic journals, such as Nature. technologies in the quest to deliver there is absolutely no doubt that gaming For example, at the most fundamental affordable, accessible and distributable technologies can deliver much more than perceptual-motor and cognitive skills level, forms of simulation-based training. Often the promises and hype of their primitive experimental evidence suggests that referred to as “Serious Games” – games predecessor – affordability and games players tend to show superior with an “explicit and carefully thought-out accessibility, in particular. But, at the time performance in a range of tasks (Boot et educational purpose ... not intended to be of writing, a truly widespread uptake of the al., 2008; Dye et al., 2009; Green & played primarily for amusement” (Abt, technology has yet to be seen (and this is Bavelier, 2003, 2007), such