Contact: Bob Ratliff
Two Mississippi State University industrial engineers are being honored for research into ways to improve information flow between remote-controlled robots and their human operators.
David B. Kaber, an assistant professor of industrial engineering, and associate professor John M. Usher are receiving the 1999 Jerome H. Ely Human Factors Article Award for their research report on telepresence--the sensation of being present at a remote location.
The award will be presented Sept. 23 at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's annual meeting in Houston, Texas.
Now in its second year, "Telepresence in Teleoperations" is the title of Kaber and Draper's four-year research project. Their work, which has broken new ground in the field and is the basis for the award, is supported by a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award given to Kaber in 1997.
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society promotes the discovery and exchange of knowledge about humans that can be applied to the design of systems and devices to ensure safety, effectiveness and ease of performance. The organization has some 5,000 members.
Also sharing the Ely Award is industrial psychologist John Draper of the Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory, who conducts telepresence research in conjunction with the two Mississippi State scientists.