An evaluation of touchscreen versus keyboard/mouse interaction for large screen process control displays

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Process Control Systems
• User Interface Design

Background:

• Effective interaction devices are crucial for process control tasks, impacting operator performance and efficiency.
• Evaluating novel interaction methods like touchscreens alongside traditional interfaces is essential for optimizing system design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of different interaction devices (4K screen with touchscreen vs. keyboard/mouse) on performance in a tank farm process control task.
• To compare system interaction times, task performance, workload, and user experience between the two interface conditions.

Main Methods:

• A within-subject experiment involving 20 college engineering students managing a simulated tank farm.
• Performance was measured using primary (tank level, discharge count) and secondary (manual logging) tasks, interaction times, situation awareness, workload, and usability surveys.

Main Results:

• Keyboard/mouse interaction led to faster detection and navigation times (approx. 2s quicker).
• Touchscreen interaction resulted in faster data entry times (approx. 2s quicker).
• No significant differences were found in secondary task performance, situation awareness, or workload; however, users showed a slight preference for the touchscreen.

Conclusions:

• Interaction devices significantly affect specific aspects of performance, such as navigation versus data entry speed.
• While touchscreens offer benefits in data entry and user preference, potential visual distraction and attention allocation require further investigation.
• Designers must carefully consider the trade-offs and optimize the integration of touchscreens in process control environments.