No abstract

No abstract

The focus of this study was on how different knife characteristics affect the consumer’s ability to slice vegetables. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is a difference in cutting between a chef knife and a santoku knife, a ceramic knife and a stainless-steel knife, and a sharp and dull knife in terms of muscle activation, body part discomfort, time, and slice performance. The results show for the consumer that knife characteristics do not affect the user’s performance.

Pop-top cans are simple to use because they do not require tools, but bring inherent problems with opening primarily for the older population. The development of different opening devices aims to improve accessibility for the older population by reducing the frustrations and discomforts associated with this style of packaging. A study of 24 individuals, showed different preferences in opening methods between older and younger individuals. Furthermore, determining time to open, EMG muscle activation, and wrist angle revealed that some objective measures related to subjective preferences. Younger individuals believed that the increased convince of a pop top, greatly outweighed any pain they had to endure. The elderly, however, preferred to use a simple opening device to transfer the movement away from the fingers to the wrist. Because of the reduction of precision movements, the elderly preferred to use the J-popper opening device. The difference in preferred opening methods between age groups shows that packaging designers must consider the needs of all members of the population.

Police officers often must work alone in clearing operations, a procedure that involves surveying a building for threats and appropriately responding. A partnership between drone swarms and officers has potential to increase the safety of officers and civilians during these high-stress operations and reduce the risk of harm from hostile persons. This two part study examines aspects of trust, situational awareness, mental demand, performance, and human-robot interaction during law enforcement building clearing operations using either a single drone or a drone swarm. Results indicate that single drone use can increase time for operation, but accuracy and safety of clearing is enhanced. Single drone use saw increased situational awareness, a decrease in number of targets missed, and a moderate level of trust. For drone swarms, results indicate significant differences in mental workload from swarm data feeds compared to single drone feeds but no substantial difference in accuracy of finding targets.