Comparative Evaluation of Voice Versus Keypad Input for Manipulating Electronic Technical Data for Flight Line Maintenance Technicians

Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals will soon be come a requirement for aircraft maintenance technicians. An important aspect in their development is the selection of an input device that will enhance, rather than impede, technician performance. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate two types of input devices that can be used: a voice recognition input and a keypad input. Studies to date have evaluated the superiority of digital data over paper data, and advantages of using a Head Mounted Display Device over a flat screen laptop computer. No research has evaluated the input device. An experiment was conducted to determine which interface allowed the technicians to work faster. Sixteen F-16 avionics maintenance technicians from the 178th Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio Air National Guard, performed two parallel tasks using each input device. One task was performed using a keypad input device and another task was performed using a voice recognition input device.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. Read more