Browsing by Author "Khatri, Ashik 1990-"
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Item Biofeedback Arrests Sympathetic and Behavioral Effects in Distracted Driving(2018-08) Khatri, Ashik 1990-; Pavlidis, Ioannis T.; Eick, Christoph F.; Johnsson, Lennart; Manser, Michael P.Operating machinery while distracted is dangerous, and may lead to accidents. Distracted driving in particular has become an epidemic, landed by such things as smartphone usage and the tendency to slip into absent-mindedness in tedious commutes. Here we show that a method capable of detecting the onset of distractions, can pull the driver out of a downward psychophysiological spiral. The method is reliable, unobtrusive, and subtle in its intervention - all important characteristics for real-time corrections on human handling of critical machinery. Arousal estimation is performed by a conservative statistical filter acting upon the driver’s perinasal perspiration signal, as this is continuously extracted from a thermal imaging feed. Overarousal notices are communicated via a visual indicator placed in the driver’s peripheral vision. Using this method, we conducted a parallel group experiment, where a control CL (n = 23) and a biofeedback BF (n = 24) cohort were distracted mentally and physically while driving, with only the biofeedback group receiving the benefit of overarousal notification. Results show that heeding biofeedback notices cuts dramatically the time BF subjects are engaged in distractions with respect to the control group, significantly reducing their arousal levels and improving their driving behaviors in the context of a typical commute.Item Effects of Prescriptive Design on the Usage of a Walking App(2015-05) Khatri, Ashik 1990-; Pavlidis, Ioannis T.; Eick, Christoph F.; Tsiamyrtzis, PanagiotisWalking is the most ubiquitous physical activity. Natural walking opportunities, however, have been declining in developed societies. This decline has been linked to the rise of obesity. iPhone and Android health and fitness apps aim to reverse this trend by motivating people to be more physically active. The core philosophy in many of these applications is to overwhelm the user with information and promote user competition. In this thesis, we present a walking app design that is antithetical to the main trends. This new design is based on minimalism, where targets are set in a prescriptive manner and competition takes a secondary role. Specifically, the app gives to the user a daily caloric goal to consume by walking. The formula that computes this goal is based on the user’s food intake, Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), and Body Mass Index (BMI). Our hypothesis is that authoritative directions conveyed with single-minded simplicity have better chance than prevailing methods to keep the user engaged. Results from a comparative study render support to this hypothesis.