The study evaluated effects of sitting and standing work postures on objective short-term computer typing performance and perceived discomfort. A randomized, repeated measures, study design was used to assess typing performance and perceived discomfort for 12 participants on a 15-minute computer-typing task. Typing performance was measured by number of characters typed and number of errors. Perceived discomfort was measured for the whole body, as well as for upper body and lower body, using a visual analog scale. Results suggest that for a short-term computer typing task, compared to a sitting work posture a standing work posture leads to fewer typing errors without impacting typing speed. Overall levels of perceived discomfort for the whole body are similar for sitting and standing work postures. However, for perceived discomfort there is an interaction of work posture and body region - upper body discomfort is higher in the sitting work posture while lower body discomfort is higher in the standing work posture.
The effect of using a mouse, a trackpad and a 3D motion-and-gesture control (3DMGC) on point-and-click task performance, posture and comfort was tested with twelve participants. Performance (movement time, throughput, error); wrist and arm posture; comfort and usability ratings were recorded. Results showed that for performance measures, the mouse performed the best, having the fastest movement time and highest throughput; the trackpad had the least errors. Movement times were significantly slower for the 3DMGC and this had the lowest throughput among the three input devices. Postural analysis using RULA indicate that compared to a mouse and trackpad, posture was worse for ‘clicking’ task with the 3DMCG and this was also rated the least comfortable of the three and the most difficult to use.
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