presented by:

Vikram Razdan
MSc, Advanced Engineering Design Student
Brunel University ID: 1216563
Dec 2013

Pages 1 15: Human Factors Review

Appendix A: Transcript of phone interview with Seaeyes Technical Sales Engineer
Appendix B: List of Tables and Figures
 1

Introduction
What is an ROV?
A Remote Operated Vehicle, commonly referred to as an ROV, is a tethered underwater vehicle, and is
quite common in underwater/subsea industries. ROVs are unoccupied, highly manoeuvrable and operated
by a person aboard a vessel or ashore. (www.rovs.eu, ROV Training Center).
ROVs have found increasing use within the subsea oil&gas industry over the last 10 years as oil&gas exploration
and production has entered deep waters (> 500 metres depth), where it is not possible for air and saturation divers
to operate.
The ROV Pilot is responsible for manual control of the ROV (submersible) based on video feedback from
cameras and sonar.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Human

The ROV System and Piloting
Factors involved in the Piloting Panther XTP and suggest
design changes, if any.

Video
Monitor

Cable
Controller Control
Console

Tether
Tether

ROV

Submersible
(ROV)
Fig. 1: Basic ROV Layout (Christ and Wernli, 2007) Fig. 2: Computer generated image depicting The ROV World, www.cqci.org
 2

Technical Information
Panther-XT Plus ROV

Panther XTP is a robot with

autopilot and obstacle avoidance
sonar. A complex machine operated
by the ROV Pilot in a harsh
3281 feet (1000 metres)
underwater environment, based on
work on the concept of Augmented
Reality (Vasilijevic et al. 2013). The
complexity increases since the
ocean restricts the transmission of
electromagnetic waves, including
visible light (Ho et al. 2011)

2 Electronics
Umbilical/ Pods
Tether 2 Buoyancy
tanks

Pan and Tilt

(Fig. 3: History of ROVs, Oceaneering, 2013) for cameras

Heading or Depth (Heave)

y Thrusters
Six (8 horizontal 4 LED Lights
Yaw
and 2 vertical)
degrees x
of Pitch Forward Compass, Gyro and
(Surge) Depth Sensors
freedom Roll <= 4 knots
Additional tooling
bolted to chassis Manipulator arms

Fig. 4: Six degrees of freedom of an ROV Fig. 5: Key details of Panther-XT Plus ROV
 3

ROV Pilots operating environment

External Environment

Offshore ROV Tether Launch and

Sea Vessel Management Recovery
System (TMS) System (LARS)

Internal Environment
Majority of the 12
hour shift time is
spent in Piloting the
Multiple ROV (Fugro, 2013)
Video
Monitors

Power Surface ROV Hand Manual

Supply Control Unit Control Unit Control
Units
Keyboard Manipulator
Controller Posture
Seating
Footswitch
for TMS
Fig. 6: A typical Seaeye Panther-XT Plus Control Cabin
Fig. 7 : Panther-XT Plus ROVs Pilots operating environment

For the purposes of this study, it is assumed that the ROV Pilot has the minimum required competency in
operating an ROV from a sea going vessel, and all tooling, fitments and auxiliary services are as per the
International Marine Contractors Association code of practice (ROV Mobilisation, Sept 2013, IMCA R 009 Rev. 1).
 4

ROV Piloting issues

ROV Pilots objective is to complete the allotted task with a high degree of accuracy and within the
scheduled time.
ROV Piloting is a difficult task mainly due to reduced sensory cues and poor spatial awareness from being
physically removed from the operating environment (Ho et al., 2011).

Poorly designed Low visibility due to

Effect on ROV buoyancy from water
automation can negatively fouling of cameras by
salinity / density variation
impact operators pollutants
(Ho et al. 2011 and IMCA Code of
(Parasuraman and Riley, (IMCA Code of
Practice, 2009)
1997). Practice, 2009)

Lag in sonar signal

ROV pitch (nose-
propagation
ROV Pilot up/nose-down) and
underwater
roll adjustment errors
(Ho et al., 2011)
Potential from
Maintain top, bottom Piloting a work class ROV like Panther-XT information overload
and side clearances Plus involves a high degree of complexity from multiple display
when ROV is in close screens
Insufficient pan angle Manipulator position
spaces (Parasuraman, 2000)
for the cameras control / accuracy
(BS EN ISO 13628-
during work tasks
8:2006) Risk to ROV from
Multiple Low
Acoustic interference visibility due to support vessels
Risk of umbilical if several vessels are fouling of cameras thrusters and
entanglement operating in the area by pollutants propellers
(in free swimming (IMCA Code of (IMCA Code of (IMCA Code of
ROVs) Practice, 2009) Practice, 2009) Practice, 2009)
 5

Evaluation of the Human Factors

Human Factors involved
In ROV Piloting
1. Situation Awareness
2. Mental workload
3. Trust in automation
4. Design of controls
5. Posture
6. Anthropometric
dimensions for Seating
and Control Desk
Importance By incorporating Human
Physical considerations
Rank Factors based design
changes in the Panther-XT
5 Hand Control Unit with
Plus ROV, the Pilot
Joystick, Rotary knobs and
5 performance can be improved
Toggles
and human errors minimised.
4 Manipulator Master Controller
Footswitch for TMS (Tether
4 Management System) shut off These are Human Factors which
directly influence the design of
4 Seated for long hours with the ROV and its Piloting, and will
constant visual input from be the focus of this study
4 displays while using hand
control

Multiple video monitors (2 to Task workload and

7. Visual Display Layout 4 6, depending upon cameras
installed)
12 hour shift
8. Task workload 3
Pilot is part of 3 person crew
9. Communication 3 Deployed offshore
Importance rankings (High:5, Low:1) are based on literature review
Communication are operational
Human Factor issues which
depend upon several external
factors (type/size of company,
workforce culture, work contract,
regulations) and are beyond the
scope of this study.

Tasks Tooling
Observation Cameras Technical considerations
Higher the technical
Inspection Sensors Type of tooling consideration, higher the
Survey Sonar Free swimming or Tethered complexity, leading to
LOWER PERFORMANCE
Construction/ Robotic arms/Special Work or Observation
and HUMAN ERRORS!
Intervention attachments Shallow or Deepwater
Burial/ Trenching Trenching equipment
 6

1. Situation Awareness
Endsley (1995), defined Situation Awareness as "the perception of elements in the environment within a
volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near
future.. The crucial issue is the assimilation of the relevant sensory inputs, the processing of information
pertinent to specified user goals, and the translation of the users subsequent decisions into effective action
(Oron-Gilad et al. 2006). Jones and Endsley (1996) found out that 76% of errors happen due to shortcomings in
perception of the needed information.

The term Perception Enhancement System can be used to describe any device which optimises the feedback
of environmental or vehicle stimuli to the driver (Giacomin, 2013)

Situation Awareness in Piloting Panther XTP ROV

In ROV Piloting, situation awareness is essentially
cognition of perception and data cues of the situation
received from visual displays, comprehension of this
situational information, and ability to project future
status, with a view to achieve the desired goal based
on underlying mental models/schema.
The Panther XTP ROV Pilot performs the task based
on a stream of sensory feedback delivered almost
exclusively through visual displays augmented with
location, depth and orientation information, just like
Visual Augmented Reality (Visual AR). Fig. 8: Schema, Mental Models and SA (Jones and Endsley, 2000)

Factors affecting SA in Piloting the Panther XTP ROV

The Pilot has to undertake tasks in a 3D environment based on visual 2D video feedback, which severely limits
spatial awareness/perception.
Insufficient pan angle for the cameras during work tasks when ROV is in locked/stationary position
Inadequate lighting/illumination essentially during observation tasks.
Lack of other sensory cues from the real world underwater (hearing, touch, ambient visual information, kinesthetic
and vestibular input - Flaherty et al. 2012)
 7

1(a). Situation Awareness: Assessment of Multi-Sensory Interfaces

Calhoun et al. 2006, presents the findings in the Table 1
on the right hand side, of research conducted over a few
years at AFRL, Patterson Air Force Base, USA.

Sensory Interfaces with strong potential

Synthetic augmented view (using synthetic vision
technology, where images not captured by the camera are
generated synthetically)
Force feedback control sticks (such joysticks involve the
use of haptic technology, by applying artificially generated
forces, vibrations, and motions to the user - Flaherty et al.
2012)
Speech-based input (for invoking simple buttons. Results
showed that speech input was significantly better than
manual input in terms of task completion time, task
accuracy, flight/navigation measures, and pilot subjective
ratings)

Use of speech-based input can reduce mental workload on

the ROV Pilot significantly Table 1: Results of the AFRL research at Patterson Air Force Base, USA

Recommendations for Improving Situation Awareness in Panther-XT Plus ROV Pilot

Introduce 3D High Definition cameras to improve visual perception
Introduce direct voice input (speech recognition) commands as replacement for the existing keyboard. The text from
the voice input should be displayed on the Video monitor.
Explore use of Force Feed Joysticks for sense of touch while improving tactile perception
Explore use of Audio Augmented Reality (Audio AR) in tandem with Visual AR to improve comprehension
Explore the use of Synthetic Vision Technology for underwater imagery, especially for ROV observation work in
areas of low visibility due to pollutants/debris.
 8

2. Mental Workload
Curry et al. 1979, cited defined mental workload as the mental effort that the human operator devotes to control
or supervision relative to his capacity to expend mental effort. The workload is never greater than unity.

During a 12 hours shift, the ROV Pilot has to undertake long duration supervisory control tasks with heavy
mental workload (approaching unity).

CBFV simulation for mental workload analysis

Satterfield et al. (2012) have used
Transcranial Doppler Sonography (TCD) for
measuring Cerebral blood flow velocity
(CBFV) during supervisory control of
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in a
simulated test with varying taskloads
(transitions).

CBFV results demonstrated that as task

demands increased, operators expended
more cognitive resources to meet this
increase in task demand and vice versa.

Tests also revealed two important cues: that

the performance degraded significantly
between transitions (change in taskloads) but
improved after transition was completed. Fig. 9: Graphs showing results of study in Measuring workload during dynamic supervisory control
(Satterfield et al. 2012)

Recommendations for reducing Mental Workload in Panther-XT Plus ROV Pilot

Explore ways of reducing dual or multiple task handling by ROV Pilots, since performance degradation is maximum
during task transitions.
Introduce a switchover mechanism between the ROV Hand Control Unit and the Manipulator Master Controller so
that the ROV Pilot can only operate one Control unit at a time (Emphasis on task completion to reduce mental
workload and improve performance)
 9
3. Trust in Automation
(Madsen and Gregor, 2000): Trust is the extent to which a user is confident in, and willing to act on the basis of
the recommendations, actions, and the decisions of a computer-based tool or decision aid. Trust declines
immediately after observing a malfunction in automation. whereas the growth or recovery of trust occurs
relatively slowly (Lee and Moray, 1994). It has been argued (Itoh 2011) that an automated system should provide
information on the purpose of the system and the limit of its capability in a clear manner.

Factors affecting ROV Pilots Trust in Automation

Panther XTP ROV pilot has to trust automatic systems (autopilot) and
semi-automatic systems (obstacle avoidance sonar, cameras, sensors,
and manipulators) to perform the task underwater. If the autopilot, the
sonar or the manipulator fails to perform satisfactorily even once,
there would be a tendency to override/reject these systems.
Panther XTPs autopilot and navigation system (flux-gate compass and
rate sensor) utilises Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS)
and optional Doppler Velocity Logs (DVL) to establish a relative or dead Fig. 10

reckoned position. This system is subject to time and distance based

position errors and only operates accurately close to the seabed. This
means that mid-water operations are conducted via manual control so Fig. 10, shows results of study involving
real world or relative coordinates cannot be easily used by the ROV pilot impact of Robot failures and Feedback
(Sonardyne, 2012). on Real-Time Trust (Desai et al. 2013). It
Propagation delay of underwater acoustic communications is approx. 10 confirms findings by Itoh, 2011 that
seconds at a distance of 7 km (Sayers et al., 1998) Humans overtrust automation.

System Trust issue System shortcomings Recommendations for Panther-XT Plus

Autopilot (AHRS/DVL) Overtrust Position errors in mid-waters (not Introduce out of range audio warnings
highlighted by Seaeye)
Obstacle Avoidance Undertrust Acoustic lag/disturbance Provide audio warning as soon as there is a
Sonar underwater (pre-known to Pilots) drop in signal
Manipulators Overtrust Position accuracy and control (no Explore the possibility of intelligent data
data available) capture and mining system to establish
manipulators performance limits
 10

4. Design of Controls
Knobs and switches: Observations, Trends and Standards
LED lighted push button switches are being preferred again in the aviation industry since touch screens do not
provide tactile feedback (Tech Report, Avionics Magazine, Aug 2005).
Influence of backlash is negligible in knob control when error tolerance is around (0.18 mm) 0.007 (Jenkins and
Connor, 1948)
NASA (2008) has developed standards and recommendations for design of controls, as under:
i. Continuous position rotary knobs are good for precise settings, but develop a parallax error. Clockwise
movement should indicate increase / ascending order.
ii. Push buttons make efficient use of space, but state of activation is not always obvious. A square x-section is
recommended and surface of the push button should be concave to prevent slippage, and activation should be
indicated by an audible click
iii. Toggle switches make efficient use of space, but require guards or shields to prevent accidental activation.
Length of toggle should be between 19 and 25 mm for single finger operation. Toggle displacement should not
exceed 80. Spacing between toggles should be at least 15 mm for a toggle switchbank.
iv. 2- position Legend switches are good in low illumination (if self illuminated) and make efficient use of space.
v. 2-position rocker switches make efficient use of space and do not snag clothing, but susceptible to
accidental activation.

Inadequacies in Existing Layout of the Hand Control Unit:

Rotary knob Joystick (3-axis) Panther-XT Plus ROV
(big)
Rotary knob Toggle switch On/Off positions not consistent (one switch has
(small) reverse On and Off position).
Positioning of toggle switches is vertical instead of horizontal.
6 Rotary knobs (small) positioned around Joystick are
susceptible to accidental movement.
Status of activation is not obvious on push-button switches.
Push-button surface is round which cannot prevent slipping of
Push button Toggle switches finger.
Joystick location is improper since the user can inadvertently
Fig. 11: Panther-XT Plus Hand Control Unit move the toggle switches or the rotary switches
 11

4(a). Design of Controls

Proposed Layout of the Hand Control Unit of Panther-XT Plus

3-axis Joystick
Recessed
6 Rotary knobs
On/Off toggle
(12 mm ) with
with guard
serrations and
digital counter at
bottom

Square push
button switch
with concave top

Guards
Rotary knob (25 mm )
with serrations and digital
counter at bottom

Fig. 12: Proposed Layout of the Panther-XT Plus Hand Control Unit

Recommendations / Proposed changes in Layout of Hand Control Unit

Displays and/or controls that are functionally related located to be in proximity of one another.
Discrete position switches to be on the left hand side.
All rotary knobs except one (big) to be on the right hand side (right handed ROV Pilot).
Provide recessed toggles with guards to prevent any accidental/inadvertent activation.
Ensure consistency in On/Off labels on toggles, with Off (up) and On (down).
Provide square push button switches with concave top surface to prevent finger from slipping.
Move Joystick to lower centre position towards the ROV Pilot for easy access while standing as well as sitting
Position the 6 Rotary knobs (small) on a staggered basis with 25 mm clearance between knobs to prevent
accidental/inadvertent activation
 12

5. Posture
Postural issues and considerations when seated for long hours
Posture in seating is a static posture (Jones and Barker, 1996). A relaxed sitting posture is when the pelvis is tilted
backwards and lordosis (lumbar curvature) is maintained (Jones and Barker, 1996)
About 33% of visual display terminal (VDT) users experience back and neck pain (Yoo and Kim, 2006 cited in Daian
et al. 2007)
Lumbar pain is the most influential on seating comfort, followed by neck and dorsal pain. A key factor
influencing lumbar and dorsal pain is mobility: static postures provoke more pain, while small and quick
movements alleviate it. (Vergara and Page, 2002)
A minimum trunk-thigh angle of 105 is necessary to preserve lumbar lordosis (Harrison et. Al 2000), whereas the
optimum seat-back angle appears to be 120 from horizontal. The seat height should be less than the distance from
knee to feet to eliminate pressure on the posterior popliteal area, and the lumbar support optimum appears to be 5
cm of protrusion from the seat back (Harrison et al. 1999).
Harrison et.al (2007) concluded that a 0 to 10 seat bottom, posteriorly inclined, gives the best comfort.

Fig. 14: Participant with electrodes

Fig. 13: Group of postures for 6 participants when sitting in a chair (Vergara and Page, 1999) measuring contact with backrest

Analysis of the Posture results from Table 2

Group 3 is the best sitting posture since its gives
the least discomfort for lumbar and neck pain.
Group 2 sitting posture gives the least dorsal
pain.
Table 2: % Frequency of body part discomfort (Vergara and Page, 1999)
 13

5(a). Posture: Head position and Optimal Seating

Head position
A 30 declined gaze as a result of the horizontal nasion-
opisthion reference line is recommended by ergonomists
as a good working position (Vital and Senegas 1986, cited in
Harrison et al. 1999).
There should be minimal anterior translation and/or flexion of
the head, since it has been shown to reduce sitting stress
(Harrison et al. 1999)
By changing the backrest-horizontal angle from 120 to 105
and thigh-horizontal angle (seat bottom inclination) from 10
to 0, head flexion can be reduced from 30 to 15.

Optimal seating posture considering lumbar,

Fig. 15: Representation of optimal sitting posture for an ROV Pilot dorsal, thigh and head positions

Recommendations for ROV Pilot Posture and Seating

ROV Pilots should be advised to shift posture at an interval of around 5 minutes.
The seat backrest should have a limit in flexibility between 105 and 120.
The seat bottom should be inclined backwards between 0 and 10.
Arm-rests to be provided, and should be adjustable up-down, depending upon the ROV Pilots size.
Lumbar support of 5 cm protrusion to be provided with up-down adjustment as for arm-rests.
Seat height should be adjustable.
There should be space below seat bottom to allow backward movement of legs during shifting of posture
 14

6. Anthropometric dimensions for Seating and Control desk

Inadequacies in Seating and Control desk: Panther-XT Plus ROV Pilot
The Seaeye Panther-XT Plus ROV Pilot sits on a standard operator seat with castors, fixed arm rests, adjustable
height and reclining backrest (see Fig. 7, Page 5). Since arm-rests are not adjustable and backrests do not have
adjustable lumbar support with a reclining limit of 120, there is a likelihood of ROV Pilots developing back and neck
pain.
The control desk has a flat top surface onto which the Hand Control Unit and/or the Manipulator Master Control Unit are
placed without fixtures, thereby raising the effective working height for the ROV Pilot with no use of arm-rests and
increased discomfort.
The control desk front side has not been standardised and has a flat panel for some fitments. This hinders free
movement of the Pilots legs during shifting of posture.

Seating and Desk height dimensions recommended

(Refer to Table 3)
Seat width (F) to be 415 mm (95th percentile women)

Seat bottom length (B) to be 420 mm (5th percentile

women)
Seat height (A) adjustable from 360 mm to 450 mm (5th
percentile women to 95th percentile men)

Backrest height (D) to be 635 mm (95th percentile men)

Arm-rest height (C) adjustable between 180 mm to 265

mm (5th percentile women to 95th percentile men)

Footrest height to be 60 mm (difference between 50th

percentile women and 95th percentile men)

The control desk underside height to be 765 mm (95th

percentile men) i.e. be (A + C) plus 50 mm clearance.
Adjustable footrests to be provided for <95th percentile
Table 3: Anthropometric dimensions for chairs (Applied Ergonomics, 1970)
 15

7. Visual Display Layout

Eyes: blind spot
Each eye has a large blind region, about 4 of
visual angle (Scholarpedia, 2013).
The blind spot measure in the left eye is
around 10 to the left of optic axis, and the
one in the right eye, equally far out on the
other side (Scholarpedia, 2013)
Fig. 17: Blind spot in Human Eye

The Human Eye has visual acuity up to 9 Visual Angle for each eye
Scovil et al. 2009, mention that the human eye focuses incoming light rays most accurately on the fovea, the retinal area
of the greatest visual acuity (visual angle <2.5). The surrounding macula (visual angle <9) also provides high acuity,
beyond which the visual acuity decreases.

586 mm
3 Video LCD Monitors at same level

Visual Angle 18 70 mm recess

586 mm in the Control
Desk
15 inch Video LCD Monitor
Arm-rest with 16:9 aspect ratio Manipulator
(Screen height 186 mm) Hand Control Master Controller
Unit

Fig. 18: Recommended distance of the Video Monitor from ROV Pilots eye Fig. 19: Proposed layout of the Video Monitors

Recommendations / Proposed Changes in Layout of Visual Displays

It is important that the centre of the ROV main Video LCD Monitor be at height lower than the eyes considering the 30
inclination of gaze angle. Additional Monitors should be installed at the same height as the main monitor on either side.
For a 15 inch LCD Monitor (vertical screen height = 186 mm), the ideal viewing distance is 586 mm
Ensure that any textual data on the Video Monitors in not line with the blind spots of either eye.
 Appendix A
Gary Burrows (Technical Sales Engineer, Seaeye). 2013. Panther-XT Plus ROV Piloting. Interviewed by
Vikram Razdan. [Phone] Fareham, Hampshire, 3rd December 2013.

Transcript of phone Interview

(page 1 of 2)

Q1: Is Seaeye involved in Research with Universities?

Ans: No. However, Seaeye were recently contacted by a UK University to do studies on buoyancy control using
Seaeye Falcon ROV

Q2: How many Video Displays are provided with the Panther-XP Plus ROV?
Ans: It depends on the number of Cameras. Two cameras are normally supplied by us (one colour and one black &
white with wide angle).

Q3: Has Seaeye conducted any studies on the Orion 7P and Orion 4R Manipulators to ascertain their
accuracy limits?
Ans: No. Schilling Orion 7P (position type) manipulator is recommended by Seaeye instead of Orion 4R (rate type)
since positional control is easier to manage than rate control. Seaeye have only supplied Orion 7P manipulators till
date.

Q4: How is the Orion 7P Manipulator powered hydraulically?

Ans: For the manipulators, there is a dedicated HPU (powered by thrusters) which supplies hydraulic power. The
sledge-mounted auxiliary HPU is not used for manipulators.

Q5: What type of functions are controlled by the Hand Control Unit? and Is the Manipulator Master Control
Unit linked to the Hand Control Unit?
Ans: The Hand Control Unit has a Joystick (knob type), some rotary switches (0 to 180 ) as standard (for pan and
tilt control, lighting) and switches for safety thruster. The Manipulator Master Control Unit is not controlled by the
Hand Control Unit, and is operated separately. The Manipulator Controller is placed side-by-side to the Hand
Control Unit. Seaeye expects two operators (Pilots) to work at the same time, one for manoeuvring the ROV and
the other for to manipulate the arm (Orion 7P).
 Appendix A
Transcript of phone Interview
(page 2 of 2)

Q6: What type of lighting is supplied and are there any options?
Ans: Seaeye supplies white light LED lamps with the ROV. Only on one occasion, Seaeye have supplied green
light LED lamps to a customer. We have had a customer who mentioned about using blue LED lighting on other
ROVs.

Q7: What the range of the Avoidance Sonar?

Ans: Cannot remember. Will have to look up the datasheet.

Q8: Have there been any issues with regards to controls on the Hand Control Unit?
Ans: We have had an issue with one ROV Pilot not happy after the lighting intensity control was changed recently
from a press-switch to rotary knob on the Hand Control Unit.
 Appendix B
Tables
Table 1: Results of the AFRL research at Patterson Air Force Base, USA (Calhoun et al. 2006) . Page 7
Table 2: % Frequency of body part discomfort (Vergara and Page, 1999) . Page 12
Table 3: Anthropometric dimensions for chairs (Applied Ergonomics, 1970) . Page 14

Figures
Fig. 1: Basic ROV Layout (Christ and Wernli, 2007) . Page 1
Fig. 2: Computer generated image depicting The ROV World, www.cqci.org . Page 1
Fig. 3: History of ROVs, Oceaneering, 2013 . Page 2
Fig. 4: Six degrees of freedom of an ROV . Page 2
Fig. 5: Key details of Panther-XT Plus ROV . Page 2
Fig. 6: A typical Seaeye Panther-XT Plus Control Cabin . Page 3
Fig. 7 : Panther-XT Plus ROVs Pilots operating environment . Page 3
Fig. 8: Schema, Mental Models and SA (Jones and Endsley, 2000) . Page 6
Fig. 9: Graphs showing results of study in Measuring workload during
dynamic supervisory control (Satterfield et al. 2012) . Page 10
Fig. 10: The robots perceived performance rating and self performance rating
on a semantic differential scale (7=excellent and 1=poor) . Page 11
Fig. 11: Panther-XT Plus Hand Control Unit . Page 12
Fig. 12: Proposed Layout of the Panther-XT Plus Hand Control Unit . Page 11
Fig. 13: Group of postures for 6 participants when sitting in a chair (Vergara and Page, 1999) . Page 12
 Appendix B
Figures
Fig. 14: Participant with electrodes measuring contact with backrest . Page 12
Fig. 15: Representation of optimal sitting posture for an ROV Pilot . Page 13
Fig. 16: Center of mass and neutral resting head posture . Page 13
Fig. 17: Blind spot in Human Eye . Page 15
Fig. 18: Recommended distance of the Video Monitor from ROV Pilots eye . Page 15
Fig. 19: Proposed layout of the Video Monitors . Page 15
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