Presentation
Measuring the Effect of a Powered Ankle Exoskeleton on Directed Attention
DescriptionExoskeletons are a wearable technology that can augment users’ mobility; however, understanding of their influence on navigational decisions is limited. Street crossing is a safety-critical navigational task performed in urban environments and requires adequate situation awareness, which includes directed attention – the deliberate act of concentration. Evaluating whether exoskeletons affect users’ directed attention is beneficial because this technology intends to support wearers performing other recreational and industrial activities. This study evaluated whether the Dephy ExoBoot and an approaching vehicle affect head directions at a simulated traffic intersection. Adults without mobility limitations (n=20) were familiarized with the exoskeleton and made crossing decisions with and without it as they approached the intersection on a self-paced treadmill. A Linear Mixed Effects (LME) model was fit for the percentage of time in each head direction with participant as a random effect, and fixed effects of Distance, Exoskeleton Presence, and Vehicle Presence. The LME model did not support consistent influences of the exoskeleton or vehicle on head direction across participants. A cluster analysis of head-direction percentages supported gender- and height-specific strategies for environmental scanning. Methods to assess how wearable technologies impact attention enable system designs that afford users sufficient cognitive resources to perform other tasks.
Event Type
Industry/Practitioner Content
Lecture
TimeTuesday, October 14th11:50am - 12:10pm CDT
LocationGrand A
Cognitive Engineering & Decision Making
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