Designing User Interfaces for Increased Depth Perception in Remote Crane Operation

Abstract: This study investigates different design choices for graphical user interfaces meant to improve depth perception in remote crane operation through measuring efficiency and user experience. To achieve this, three different graphical user interface designs were created and implemented into a cargo port simulator within the game engine Unity. These GUIs consists of a top-down shadow overlay, a guideline overlay and one overlay that would display held containers as see-through, called X-ray overlay. The three GUIs were then tested in a user study along a blank interface which had no overlay, in order to compare task efficiency, accuracy and usability among the four interfaces. In total, 15 participants took part in the user study in which none had any previous experience in using heavy machinery such as cargo cranes. These 15 participants were of various ages between 22-59 and of various genders. The results from the user study shows that the shadow overlay and the guideline overlay were more favoured among the participants who took part in the experiment, as well as more usable in comparison towards the X-ray overlay and having no overlay. The participants were also more accurate and efficient in placing containers while using the shadow overlay and the guideline overlay.