TITLE:
Design and Evaluation of a User Interface for an Autonomous Agricultural Sprayer
AUTHORS:
Uduak Edet, Franklin Ogidi, Daniel Delmar Mann
KEYWORDS:
User Interface, Automation Interface, Autonomous Sprayer, User-Centered Design, Human-Machine Interaction, User Interface Design Principles
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.13 No.2,
February
24,
2022
ABSTRACT: This paper describes the design and evaluation of a user interface for a remotely supervised autonomous agricultural sprayer. The interface was designed to help the remote supervisor to instruct the autonomous sprayer to commence operation, monitor the status of the sprayer and its operation in the field, and intervene when needed (i.e., to stop or shut down). Design principles and guidelines were carefully selected to help develop a human-centered automation interface. Evaluation of the interface using a combination of heuristic, cognitive walkthrough, and user testing techniques revealed several strengths of the design as well as areas that needed further improvement. Overall, this paper provides guidelines that will assist other researchers to develop an ergonomic user interface for a fully autonomous agricultural machine.