Operator-machine interaction: ergonomic evaluation of a vineyard teleoperated machine

This paper presents an ergonomic evaluation of a teleoperated compost spreader. Besides eliminating operator's exposure to vibration, the main advantage of remotely controlling the machine is reduction of operator's risks. A fully operational prototype was used by 6 participants to distribute compost between vineyard rows. Questionnaires, interviews and observation grids were used to collect data. Results show that the evaluation helped identifying aspects which needed to be modified in order to improve the quality of the operator's experience in interacting with the machine. For example, participants found difficult to control the movement of the vehicle along the slope and during a 180°-turn, due to operation time lag. Moreover the system violets one of Nielsen's heuristics (visibility of system status) by not keeping the user always informed with appropriate feedback.