Does technology always make a farmer's life easier? Perceived usability of a technologically developed tractor cab: a comparison between novice and expert users.

Since tractors have been introduced in agriculture, many important technological improvements have been adopted, marking important steps in the development of these machines. However, technology may raise some issues about its usability, especially for those people who are not used to it. The present study investigated the perceived usability of the tractor cab interface in a group of novices and experts approaching a tractor equipped with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). Electronics plays a major role in controlling the performance of this type of transmission and the tractor cab has been designed to hold and integrate this technology. Eight novice and eight expert tractor drivers participated in the study. During the first contact with the machine and after having performed different tasks representative of some fieldwork with the tractor, participants filled in a questionnaire about the perceived usability of the controls and of the touch-screen display and the general perception of safety, comfort, learnability and solidity of the machine. The same tasks were performed and the same measures taken also for a tractor equipped with a mechanical transmission, to have a benchmark against which to compare data about the CVT vehicle. The results of the study showed that novices found the vehicle to be equipped with controls and devices that made it difficult to learn how they had to be triggered. Experts did not report similar difficulties. Implications for the redesign of the layout of a technologically developed tractor cab and for targeted training interventions are discussed.