Gesture-based interaction for Centralized Traffic Control

Sammanfattning: Ever wondered how trains arrive and depart on time? Traffic Control systems are there to help control the traffic flow, with many operators monitoring and taking actions when necessary. Operators of the traffic control systems use a keyboard and a mouse to interact. Current user interface and work setup consist of many usability issues that can be improved in order to increase operator’s efficiency and productivity in controlling the traffic. Interviewing users of the system and researching on related topics led to a newly proposed design in interaction, user interface as well as some suggestions for increasing productivity. Gesture-based interaction is introduced and simulated for traffic control systems that tend to improve the operation. Various gestures are designed such as panning, zooming and hovering the map using Leap Motion controller which enables intuitive interaction. These gestures aim to solve identified usability issues discovered during the interview with the user. The project aims to answer the following question: Can gesture-based interaction solve usability issues and establish the intuitive use of the CTC system? Performing exploratory research on this topic involved designing, implementing and testing hand gestures with users. From an ergonomic perspective, body posture and hand position of the operator is examined and suggested to use sit-to-stand workstations in order to reduce pain and discomfort while working. Gesture-based interaction eliminates finding mouse cursor on large screens, it enables fast request of detailed information and also it provides a better overview of the map surroundings. Laboratory tests confirm that gesture-based interaction brings more natural and intuitive use of traffic control systems. There is a big potential for gesture-based interaction to increase usability and bring efficient controlling for operators. It would reduce delays of the train and maintain safe traffic flow.