THE EFFECT OF REACH DISTANCE ON REACH TIME IN A BUTTON PUSHING TASK

摘要

When a design engineer determines the placement, spacing, and distances of controls in a workspace, the distance which an operator must reach is assumed to be the principle determinant of reach time. The present study was designed to test this assumption in a simple workspace containing eight pushbuttons mounted on a panel that could be alternated between two adjacent positions. Both reaction time and reach time were measured. The data indicate that, although reach distance undeniably influences reach time, the relationship between these two variables may not be linear. Two additional factors must be considered, i.e. difficulty of aiming and the distance between response buttons.