About the importance of auditory alarms during the operation of a plant simulator

An experiment was carried out to estimate the effect of auditory alarms on the work of an plant operator in the context of a computer simulation. We designed our process simulator so that each of eight machines ('numeric controlled' (NC) or 'computer numeric controlled' (CNC) robots) made tones to indicate its status over time. Each tone was designed to reflect the semantic of the actual break down event. As many as 32 different auditory alarms plus six normal machine sounds made be placed at once. We attempted to design the auditory alarms so that none would be masked (rendered inaudible) by other auditory alarms. Eight students of computer science operated our process simulation program of an assembly line with NC and CNC robots. Relevant information of disturbances and machine breakdowns was given only in a visual (test condition 1), and in visual and auditory form (test condition 2). The results indicate, that the additional feedback of auditory alarms improves...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 1998
• Where: IWC
• Authors: Matthias Rauterberg
• Keywords: Auditory Alarms, Computer, IWC 1998, Machine