Exploration of Alerting Methods on Vest-Worn Systems

Abstract

This thesis presents the design and analysis of a vest-worn alerting system with the purpose of warning those who wear it. The goal of this thesis has been shaped around roadside construction workers, people who endeavor to build and maintain the roadways in highly noisy and dangerous environments. Our goal is to determine what type of alerting method best interrupts the worker, allowing him or her to know that danger approaches. Multiple alerting methods will be compared via reaction time and user data derived through critical incidents from the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) and notification-focused questionnaires. All testing is done in a simulated noisy environment. Each of these alerting methods involve combinations of auditory, visual, or haptic components. At the end of this thesis, the different alerting methods will be compared and a mode will be suggested for wearable notification activities. The work proposed in this thesis focuses mostly on vest design and alert testing for construction-based scenarios, but the work can be extended to police and highway worker scenarios.