Evaluating Graphical User Interfaces for Handling Latency in Remote Crane Operation

Abstract

Due to safety and productivity concerns, there are newer cranes that can be operated remotely from a control room. As operators and their cranes are located separately, the communication between operators and their cranes is not free from time delay or latency. The presence of high latency could not only affect operators’ capability to work productively and safely, but could also affect their wellbeing due to the feeling of discomfort. In this paper, we propose two types of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that could support operators to perform their work in the presence of latency. The first GUI visualizes how the crane will move based on the user's input as if the latency is not present, while the second GUI visualizes what kind of inputs that are being executed. We involved 20 participants in an experiment, where they had to move containers under conditions with three latency rates: 0 ms, 500 ms, and 800 ms, while using either of the proposed GUIs and without having any additional support. However, the results suggest that none of the proposed GUIs were significantly better in terms of performance and user experience than the condition without having any additional support.

Evaluating Graphical User Interfaces for Handling Latency in Remote Crane Operation