The project assignments are to be completed by both undergraduate and graduate students. These assignments are collaborative efforts with up to three people per team.
| TOPICS | PROJECTS |
|---|---|
| Project 1: Driving while distracted | (PDF) |
| Project 2: Visual vs. auditory reaction times | (PDF) |
| Project 3: Command vs. situation displays | (unavailable to OCW users) |
Final Team Project
The final team project is to be completed by graduate students only. Students will form teams of 2 and will conduct a comprehensive human factors engineering evaluation in the area of their choice (which must be approved in advance). In general, a system should be identified (e.g., your car, the Stata Center, the MIT nuclear power plant)—the only requirement is that the elected system must be multi-faceted and complex enough to include a number of different human factors concerns. While general guidance from the instructors will always be available, it will be up to each team to decide how to specifically conduct the analysis to address the relevant major topics covered in class. Teams should conduct an analysis of their own project, covering each of the applicable topics covered in class. Thus a single operator topic would involve a workload assessment but not crew coordination for example. Within the first month, a 1–2 paragraph description of your team’s proposed topic will be due. Final reports are all due on the last day (regardless of day of oral presentation), and should follow the typical research paper format.
