Development of an human-computer interface providing free access to an ergonomic knowledge base for use by industrial designers.

The investigation analyses how a computer based system might best be employed to assist during the development of the human centred aspects of consumer products. A prototype human-computer interface is introduced and an evaluation study is outlined which was designed to test the following hypotheses: 1. It is possible to construct a human-computer interface that will accommodate the sensori-input, cognitive, and knowledge demands of industrial designers (ergonomic novices) whilst accessing existing ergonomic data. 2. It is possible to construct a computer based system that will manipulate existing ergonomic data in such a way that is relevant to the application demands of the design development process. Industrial designers found this tool easier to use than traditional paper based enquiry methods as shown by significantly reduced answer times and increased accuracy of results. The feasibility of this tool was demonstrated via the solving of realistic design problems.