Pupillary response among VDU users in daylighted workplaces

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Daylight in workplaces can negatively impact visual display unit (VDU) task performance due to luminance distortions.
• Variations in daylight exposure affect visual perception and physiological responses like accommodation and depth of field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate pupil diameter as an ergonomic indicator of visual comfort in daylighted VDU workplaces.
• To test the hypothesis that pupil diameter reflects visual comfort under different daylighting conditions.

Main Methods:

• Measured pupillary response (pupil diameter) of four VDU users using an iriscorder.
• Recorded pupil diameter for both eyes in response to varying luminances from keyboard, screen, and background surfaces.
• Assessed responses across six different workplace positions in a daylighted room.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in pupil diameter were observed among different targets and workplace positions.
• These pupil diameter variations correlated with luminance differences caused by incoming daylight.
• Smaller pupil diameters were associated with a narrower range of graduated luminances.

Conclusions:

• Pupil diameter is a valid ergonomic indicator for assessing visual comfort in VDU tasks within daylighted environments.
• Optimizing luminance conditions, characterized by a limited range of graduated luminances, can enhance visual comfort.
• Findings have implications for VDU workplace design, organization, and the management of lighting and cooling systems.