Management control system and method for open human factor and behavioral experiment platform

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of experimental platform software systems, in particular to a management control system and method for an open human factor and behavioral experimental platform, the system comprises a file generation module, a data forwarding module and a management control module, the file generation module is used for generating an experimental script file and a participant file according to experimental requirements; the data forwarding module is used for cooperatively controlling data transmission among multiple subjects based on the interested data field declaration of each subject; and the management control module is used for issuing an experiment command to each subject according to the experiment script file and the participant file, and generating experiment data according to the reaction and behavior of multiple subjects in the experiment process. Therefore, the problem that an existing experiment platform is difficult to support general experiment requirements of real task-oriented, event-driven and multi-party participation is solved, and high efficiency and expandability of experiment design in a complex real task scene are realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of experimental platform software systems, and particularly to a management control system and method for an open human factors and behavioral experiment platform. Background Art

[0002] In basic psychology experiments, the stimulus-response research paradigm is mostly adopted, presenting stimuli at specified time points and recording the responses of the participants. Since the 1980s, computer software tools for stimulus presentation have emerged to support the design and implementation of these experiments. Nowadays, such stimulus presentation software has been widely used in experimental research in related fields. With the development of computer and network technologies, these software tools have continued to evolve in the past two decades, and a variety of products, tools, and description languages have emerged. These products and tools generally provide optional standard stimuli and intuitive experimental design interfaces.

[0003] In related technologies, for many human factors and behavioral experiments, the experimental tasks are not simple stimulus-response tasks, but real or simulated real tasks. During these tasks, the state of the experimental object (such as a certain system) evolves according to the physical principles it follows and changes in response to internal events (such as faults, control actions, etc.) and external events (such as human input, task state changes, environmental condition changes, actions of other systems, etc.). These events may also cause changes in the task process. The changes in the experimental object and the task are also events. These various events often do not have a clear time plan before the experiment and may affect each other. Therefore, real tasks more often exhibit the characteristics of event-driven rather than time-driven. Even when involving the presentation of stimuli, the presentation time point may not be fixed, but depends on the task process and is presented when a certain condition is met (such as an alarm). In addition, real tasks may involve multiple parties (humans or machines) participating, making the experimental process more complex. Therefore, many experiments use specially developed simulation systems and task interface programs. However, the experimental condition settings and process control are currently solidified in the simulation system and task interface programs through program codes. Even if it is possible to configure experimental conditions, experimental processes, variable measurements, and event logics, they are all very limited and urgently need to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a management control system and method for an open human factors and behavioral experiment platform to solve the problem that existing experimental platforms are difficult to support general experimental requirements for real tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation, and realizes the efficiency and scalability of experimental design in complex real task scenarios.

[0005] The first aspect embodiment of this application provides a management control system for an open human factors and behavioral experiment platform, including:

[0006] A file generation module, configured to generate an experimental script file and a participant file according to experimental requirements;

[0007] A data forwarding module, configured to cooperate in controlling data transmission between multiple parties based on the declared data fields of interest of each party;

[0008] A management and control module, configured to issue experimental commands to each of the parties according to the experimental script file and the participant file, and generate experimental data according to the responses and behaviors of the multiple parties during the experiment.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present application, the management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral experiment platform further includes:

[0010] Standard components, configured to collect the input and subjective feedback information of the participant, and / or present a preset audio file, a preset video file, a preset picture, and a preset text, and / or apply time pressure, and / or run a preset program.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present application, the standard components include:

[0012] An input acquisition component, configured to acquire the input information of the participant;

[0013] A questionnaire measurement or survey component, configured to collect the subjective feedback information of the participant;

[0014] A display component, configured to present the preset audio file, the preset video file, the preset picture, and the preset text;

[0015] A timing component, configured to perform a countdown action according to the countdown requirement, and / or set a preset pressure duration, wherein the preset pressure duration is determined based on the current time pressure stress requirement;

[0016] A program startup component, configured to start the preset program at the participant end;

[0017] A delay component, configured to insert a preset delay duration during the experiment, wherein the preset delay duration is determined according to the current delay requirement.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present application, the multiple parties may include an experimental process monitoring platform at the experimenter end, a task interaction interface program at the participant end, a simulation system, an agent, an interaction device, and a measurement and monitoring system.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present application, the experimental script file is used to describe the experimental stage, experimental actions, action start conditions, action end conditions, and variable settings, wherein,

[0020] The experimental stage includes at least one sub-stage, and each sub-stage includes multiple experimental conditions and multiple trials;

[0021] The experimental actions include a common pre-action, a dedicated action, and a common post-action;

[0022] The variable settings are used to control the experimental process and the measurement of the dependent variable.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present application, the data forwarding module is a data forwarder.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present application, the participant file is used to specify the experimental settings for each participant, where the participant file includes variable names and variable values.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present application, the responses of the multiple parties include at least one of button response, keyboard response, and mouse response.

[0026] The management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral experiment platform according to the embodiment of the present application generates an experimental script file and a participant file according to the experimental requirements; issues experimental commands to each party according to the experimental script file and the participant file, and generates experimental data according to the responses and behaviors of the multiple parties during the experiment. Thus, the problem that the existing experimental platform is difficult to support the general experimental requirements for real-world tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation is solved, and the efficiency and scalability of experimental design in complex real-world task scenarios are realized.

[0027] The second aspect of the present application provides a human factors and behavioral experiment method, which uses the management and control system of the above-mentioned open human factors and behavioral experiment platform, where the method includes the following steps:

[0028] Obtain the experimental requirements;

[0029] Generate the experimental script file and the participant file according to the experimental requirements;

[0030] Issue experimental commands to each party according to the experimental script file and the participant file, and generate experimental data according to the responses and behaviors of the multiple parties during the experiment.

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present application, the human factors and behavioral experiment method further includes:

[0032] Collect the input and subjective feedback information of the participants, and / or present a preset audio file, a preset video file, a preset picture, and a preset text, and / or apply time pressure, and / or run a preset program.

[0033] According to the human factors and behavioral experiment method of the embodiments of the present application, an experiment script file and a participant file are generated according to experimental requirements; experimental commands are issued to each party subject according to the experiment script file and the participant file, and experimental data are generated according to the responses and behaviors of multiple party subjects during the experiment. Thus, the problem that the existing experimental platforms are difficult to support general experimental requirements for real-world tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation is solved, and the efficiency and scalability of experimental design in complex real-world task scenarios are realized.

[0034] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be given in part in the following description, become apparent in part from the following description, or be learned through the practice of the present application. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0035] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent and be readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where:

[0036] Figure 1 It is a schematic block diagram of a management and control system for an open human factors and behavioral experiment platform according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a conceptual model of a human factors and behavioral experiment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of an open architecture of an experimental platform according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 4 It is a flowchart of a human factors and behavioral experiment method according to an embodiment of the present application. Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0040] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below. The examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present application, and should not be construed as a limitation to the present application.

[0041] Based on the fact that many psychology, human factors, and behavioral experiments need to present stimuli, record the responses of participants, provide an interactive interface for completing tasks, measure the performance and feelings of participants during the task, etc., and there are many commonalities in the process and content. Therefore, the present application develops a general experimental platform to support the design and implementation of experiments, standardize the experimental process and measurement, avoid repetitive work in experimental program development, and reduce the software skill requirements for researchers.

[0042] In view of the problem mentioned in the above background art that it is difficult to support the general experimental requirements for real-world tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation, this application establishes the architecture, model, and method required to support an open human factors and behavioral experiment platform or tool for real-world tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation. Specifically, it includes the conceptual model, open system architecture, sequential control method, and experimental process control method of human factors and behavioral experiments. Thus, the problem that the existing experimental platform is difficult to support the general experimental requirements for real-world tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation is solved, and the efficiency and scalability of experimental design in complex real-world task scenarios are achieved.

[0043] Specifically, Figure 1 is a block diagram of the management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral experiment platform according to an embodiment of this application.

[0044] As Figure 1 shown, the management and control system 10 of the open human factors and behavioral experiment platform includes: a file generation module 100, a data forwarding module 200, and a management and control module 300.

[0045] Among them, the file generation module 100 is used to generate an experimental script file and a participant file according to experimental requirements; the data forwarding module 200 is used to coordinate and control the data transmission between multiple parties based on the declaration of the data fields of interest of each party; the management and control module 300 is used to issue experimental commands to each party according to the experimental script file and the participant file, and generate experimental data according to the responses and behaviors of multiple parties during the experiment.

[0046] Furthermore, the experimental script file is used to describe the experimental stage, experimental actions, action start conditions, action end conditions, and variable settings. Among them, the experimental stage includes at least one sub-stage, and each sub-stage contains multiple experimental conditions and multiple trials; the experimental actions include common pre-actions, specific actions, and common post-actions; the variable settings are used to control the experimental process and the measurement of dependent variables.

[0047] Specifically, the experimental script file of the embodiment of this application is used to describe the experiment, including the included stages, experimental conditions, experimental actions, and various experimental condition settings and descriptions. The specific syntax and format only need to be able to be parsed by the experimental platform management and control system.

[0048] Exemplarily, the embodiment of this application uses the XML file format to describe the experiment. The following exemplifies the basic structure and elements of the content of the experimental script file, where "???" represents the content that needs to be specifically specified, and "…" represents the content that needs to be omitted or the content with an uncertain number:

[0049] <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?

[0050] <Experiment Name="???">

[0051] <description> ？？？< / description>

[0052] <participantfile>??? .sub.txt< / participantfile>

[0053] <experimentername> ？？？< / experimentername>

[0054] <settings>Name1:Value1; Name2:Value2; Name3:Value3…< / settings>

[0055] <participantnum> ？？？< / participantnum>

[0056] <Session ID="1" Name="???" Mark="???">

[0057] <description> ？？？< / description>

[0058] <performer>Instrument< / performer>

[0059] <Action ID="1.1" Name="Start" Command="Start">

[0060] <performer>Instrument< / performer>

[0061]

[0062]

[0063] <Session…>

[0064] …

[0065] <settings> ...< / settings>

[0066] <BeforeAction ID="???" Name="???" Mark="???" Command="???">

[0067] <performer>Participant< / performer>

[0068] <startcondition> ？？？:？？？；…< / startcondition>

[0069] <startsetting> ？？？:？？？；…< / startsetting>

[0070] <endcondition> ？？？:？？？；…< / endcondition>

[0071] <endsetting> ？？？:？？？；…< / endsetting>

[0072] <waitforexit>Yes / No< / waitforexit>

[0073]

[0074] <BeforeAction…>

[0075] …

[0076]

[0077] …

[0078] <ExperimentCondition ID="???"TrialNum="???"Mark="???">

[0079] <settings> ？？？:？？？；…< / settings>

[0080] <Action…>

[0081] …

[0082]

[0083] …

[0084]

[0085] <ExperimentCondition...

[0086]

[0087] …

[0088] <AfterAction…>

[0089] …

[0090]

[0091] …

[0092]

[0093] …

[0094]

[0095] In many cases, the stages of the experiment are divided according to the experimental conditions, so they are highly similar to each other, mainly differing in various numbers and variable settings. Therefore, in order to facilitate the writing of the experimental script file and avoid writing errors, the embodiments of the present application propose a function of copying the stage content and text replacement of the experimental script file: for example, using " <copysession> n< / copysession> " means copying the script content of the stage numbered n to the current stage, and using " <replace>A1:A2< / replace> " means replacing "A1" in the stage content with "A2" (except for the stage number, data mark, and trial number).

[0096] Furthermore, the participant file is used to specify the experimental settings for each participant, where the participant file includes variable names and variable values.

[0097] Specifically, the participant file specifies the experimental settings for each participant. In the embodiments of this application, a plain text file format can be adopted, with each data column separated by a Tab character. In addition, other formats can also be used as long as they can be parsed by the experimental platform management control system, and no specific limitations are imposed here. This functional format can be opened and edited in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel, and after modification, it can be saved as a plain text file separated by Tab characters.

[0098] To facilitate the understanding of the content and format of the participant file in the embodiments of this application, an experiment is taken as an example for illustration. This experiment has two independent variables: one independent variable is Task Complexity, which has two levels and is a within-group design; the other independent variable is Time Pressure, which also has two levels and is a between-group design. The participant file of this experiment can be edited as follows:

[0099]

[0100]

[0101] Among them, the first line of the above participant file is the variable name, and the other lines are the variable values, with each line corresponding to a participant. When the researcher selects the current participant ID in the experimental platform management control system, the corresponding variable values are determined accordingly. Here, the values of the independent variables are just numbers. Therefore, in the experimental script file, it is necessary to specify the specific values corresponding to each number through variable settings (for example, what available time does Time Pressure level 1 correspond to). To facilitate this setting and the flexibility of writing the script file, both variable names and values in the script file of the embodiments of this application allow combination and replacement. For example, the symbols "{" and "}" are used to indicate the variables to be replaced. Then, after setting "AvailableTime1:120" and "AvailableTime2:360", when the participant ID is 40 and Time Pressure is 2, the script "AvailableTime:{AvailableTime{TimePressure}}" will first get "AvailableTime:{AvailableTime2}", and then get "AvailableTime:360".

[0102] Furthermore, the hierarchical structure of the human factors and behavioral experiments in the embodiments of this application is as Figure 2 shown. An experiment contains 1 to multiple sub-stages (Sessions), each sub-stage contains 0 to several experimental conditions (Experiment Conditions), and 1 to multiple trials are executed under each condition.

[0103] For an experiment, there can be zero to several overall variable settings (VariableSetting) that apply to all its sub - phases. Similarly, each sub - phase can have zero to several variable settings that apply to all its experimental conditions, and each experimental condition can also have zero to several variable settings. Variable settings can be used not only to set the levels of independent variables but also to set other variables representing system states, event states, task parameters, and other variables used for experimental process control. The participant arrangement file may also set the variables corresponding to its experimental conditions.

[0104] Furthermore, as Figure 2 shown, for the need to control the experimental process and dependent variable measurement, actions (Action) can be specified at any level of the experiment to present stimuli such as text, pictures, voices, sounds, videos, etc., require participants to input or fill out questionnaires, send commands to simulation systems, agents, task interface programs, measurement devices, etc., and send experimental task commands.

[0105] In psychological, human - factors, and behavioral experiments, the actions to be performed under an experimental condition are often the same or similar in some cases and different in others. To reflect this similarity and difference and simplify the writing of experimental scripts, the actions under an experimental condition are classified into three types: common before - actions (BeforeAction, a set of actions that all experimental conditions need to perform before dedicated actions), dedicated actions (DedicatedAction, a set of actions that need to be performed only under a certain experimental condition), and common after - actions (AfterAction, a set of actions that all experimental conditions need to perform after dedicated actions). To control the execution of actions and coordinate the timing of actions, each action can set its start and end conditions (StartCondition, EndCondition) and variable settings at start and end (StartSetting, EndSetting). The number of executions of all actions under each experimental condition is equal to the number of trials. Each sub - phase can also set a set of actions (NotToRepeatAction), which are executed before the actions of each experimental condition and are executed only once.

[0106] Since an experiment may involve multiple parties (humans or machines) participating, each sub - phase and action needs to specify an executor. For the convenience of subsequent data processing, each sub - phase, experimental condition, trial, and action can be assigned a label so that each data - collection software can make corresponding markings. For the sake of easy understanding, descriptions or annotations can be given to the experiment, phases, etc.

[0107] Further, the overall process of the experiment progresses from one sub-phase to the next. Breaks, equipment inspection and adjustment, interviews with participants, and other tasks can be scheduled between sub-phases. Therefore, it is best for the experimenter to control the transition from one sub-phase to the next through an interface.

[0108] The experimental actions in the embodiments of this application all have their start conditions and end conditions. Therefore, the actual execution order of the actions depends on these condition settings, and it is necessary to distinguish in detail between the issuance and execution of action commands. Based on the naming of various actions described above, for each sub-phase, first issue the sub-phase action (NotToRepeatAction), and then for each trial of each experimental condition, issue the actions in the order of the common pre-action (BeforeAction), dedicated action (DedicatedAction), and common post-action (AfterAction). However, this does not mean that the actions are actually executed in this order. An experimental action starts to be actually executed if and only if all of its start conditions are satisfied. Therefore, although the commands for each group of actions are issued in sequence, all actions are waiting in parallel until their start conditions are satisfied before being executed. On the other hand, according to the meanings of each group of actions, sometimes it is necessary to ensure that a group of actions are all executed before another group of actions issued later. For this purpose, a switch is set for the actions, such as IfWaitForExit (default value is No), which stipulates that the commands for the next group of actions are not issued until all actions in a group for which this switch is specified as Yes are executed.

[0109] Further, variables are set in the form of "Name:Value" value pairs. Prefixes such as "<", "<=", ">", and ">=" can be added before numerical values to express relationships other than "equal to". States, events, parameters, command contents, etc. can all be defined in this value pair form. The experimental platform at the experimenter's end, the task interface program at the participant's end, the simulation system, and various participating agents and systems can all define, use, and interpret these variables. To coordinate the activities of all parties involved, the variable settings should be known to all parties in advance. All changes related to the experiment are events and ultimately reflected as changes in the variable values.

[0110] To control the execution order of two actions, the variable settings (StartSetting, EndSetting) at the start and end of one action can be used to define the start and end conditions (StartCondition, EndCondition) of another action. For example, to make action B start only after action A has been executed, the variable setting at the start of action A can be simply set to "A_Ended:No", and the variable setting at the end to "A_Ended:Yes", and then the start condition of action B can be set to "A_Ended:Yes". Similarly, if action B is to end when action A ends, the end condition of action B can be set to "A_Ended:Yes", which uses variable settings to define event logic.

[0111] After an experiment is executed once at a certain level (phase, experimental condition, trial), the variables defined within this level are assigned values. When re-entering this level, these variables are automatically reset to the unassigned state first so that the above event control logic can work properly.

[0112] Furthermore, as mentioned above, human factors and behavioral experiments may involve multiple parties (Agents), such as: the experimental process monitoring platform at the experimenter's end, the task interaction interface program at the participant's end, a simulation system that may have automation functions, autonomous agents or intelligent agents, interaction devices, a personnel status measurement or motion capture system, an environmental condition detection system, etc. The parties may be located in different places and connected together through a network. Therefore, a coordination mechanism is needed to enable all parties to work together.

[0113] For this purpose, the embodiment of the present application proposes a data forwarding module 200. Among them, the data forwarding module 200 in the embodiment of the present application can be a data forwarder, which transmits data among all parties through a commonly agreed protocol. All entities (or the computer systems they use) register themselves with the data forwarder and declare the data domain (DataDomain) they are interested in. When the data forwarder receives data in a certain domain from a certain entity (sender), it forwards the data to all entities (receivers) that declare their interest in this data domain. If the sender declares the specific entity or entity type to which the data needs to be sent, it is forwarded to the corresponding target entity. Accordingly, the embodiment of the present application proposes an open architecture for a human factors and behavioral experiment platform as Figure 3 shown, based on Figure 3 the architecture and the agreed data exchange protocol shown, a human, a task interaction interface program, machines and simulation systems, various interaction devices, various measurement and monitoring systems, etc. can be integrated into a collaborative system, where Figure 3 examples of possible entities are given, but which specific entities are included can be determined according to the actual situation and are not specifically limited here.

[0114] Further, as Figure 3 shown, in this architecture, the data forwarder plays a central role because all commands and data are forwarded through it to all parties, thus achieving the cooperation of all parties. The experimental platform management and control system plays the role of an "engine", interpreting the experimental script file (defining the stages of the experiment, experimental conditions, actions, etc.) and the participant file (specifying the experimental settings for each participant), and then issuing various commands for the experiment according to the content of the experimental script file and the participant file, receiving process and status data from other entities and presenting them to the experimenter and recording logs. Some entities may be dedicated depending on the research background, such as the task interaction interface program, the simulation system, the agent / intelligent agent; some entities may be general-purpose, such as the interaction device, the measurement and monitoring device / system. The dedicated system may have special command and variable settings, so the relevant entities should be able to interpret these special commands and variables.

[0115] Further, in some embodiments, the management and control system 10 of the open human factors and behavioral experiment platform further includes: standard components for collecting the input and subjective feedback information of the participants, and / or presenting preset audio files, preset video files, preset pictures and preset texts, and / or imposing time pressure, and / or running a preset program.

[0116] Specifically, the human factors and behavioral experiment involves some common elements, such as the input of the participants, the presentation of text, pictures, voices, sounds, videos, etc., imposing time pressure, running external programs, etc., which can be implemented according to the "standard components" and shared by different experiments. These standard components can be used as standard commands in the experimental script file, and the task interaction interface program, etc. on the participant side needs to call the corresponding standard code to interpret and execute these standard components.

[0117] Specifically, the human factors and behavioral experiment involves some common elements, such as the input of the participants, the presentation of text, pictures, voices, sounds, videos, etc., imposing time pressure, running external programs, etc., which can be implemented according to the "standard components" and shared by different experiments. These standard components can be used as standard commands in the experimental script file, and the task interaction interface program, etc. on the participant side needs to call the corresponding standard code to interpret and execute these standard components.

[0118] The standard components provided by the human factors and behavioral experiments can greatly save the development time of the task interaction interface program and other related programs, and encourage the sharing of experimental materials. The standard components proposed in this application are defined as follows and are given in the form of Command = "???" in the action definition of the experimental script file.

[0119] Exemplarily, in the following commands: the content between "[" and "]" is non-essential; if there is " / ", it means that only the given multiple optional values can be used, and the underlined one represents the default value; "???" and "nnn" respectively represent the text and numerical content determined by the researcher himself; "……" means that there can be an uncertain number of setting items; on the premise of not affecting understanding, some contents provide specific setting examples for illustrative purposes only:

[0120] (1) Delay:

[0121] Command = "Delay#Duration:nnn", which is used to set the delay.

[0122] (2) LaunchQuestionnaire:

[0123] Command = "LaunchQuestionnaire#Source:???", which is used to launch a questionnaire. Among them, Source specifies the definition file name (xml format) of the questionnaire. The questionnaire can be compiled by the questionnaire editing tool UniExpQuestionnaireTool included in the experimental management control platform software. The supported question types include single-choice questions, multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, and rating questions, and pictures, audio and video can be embedded.

[0124] (3) GetInput:

[0125] Command = "GetInput#Source:???": It is used to obtain the interactive input of the user in the form of a questionnaire. Source specifies the definition file name (xml format) of the questionnaire corresponding to the required input.

[0126] (4) DisplayAuditoryMessage (alarm):

[0127] Command = "DisplayAuditoryMessage#Source:???[;AlarmCondition: variable name 1 - value 1, variable name 2 - value 2,...][;AlarmInterval: 0.5][;Loop: Yes / No][;Duration: nnn][;Text:???][;FontName: Times New Roman][;FontSize: 16][;FontColor: 255,0,100,0][;Flash: Yes / No][;FlashColor: 255,255,255,0][;Position: TopRight / TopLeft / TopCenter / BottomRight / BottomLeft / BottomCenter / ScreenCenter][;CloseBoxForbidden: Yes / No]"

[0128] The above command plays the audio in an invisible way and can be used to present audio stimuli (text can be attached). Among them: Source specifies the audio file name, Loop sets whether to loop play, Duration sets the display duration, Text sets the description text content to be displayed, FontName, FontSize, and FontColor respectively set the font, font size, and color used for text display, Flash sets whether the text should flash, FlashColor sets the flashing color, FlashInterval sets the flashing time interval (in seconds), Position sets the position to be displayed on the screen, and CloseBoxForbidden is used to set whether the test subject can close the window through the close button in the upper right corner of the window. When used as a sound alarm, the alarm condition can be set through AlarmCondition. Note that there is a "-" sign between the variable name and the value in the alarm condition expression, and the conditions are separated by a "," sign.

[0129] (5) Present text information DisplayTextMessage

[0130] Command = "DisplayTextMessage#Duration:nnn; Text:???[; Margin:nnn][; Width:nnn][; FontName:Times New Roman][; FontSize:16][; FontColor:255,0,100,0][; Flash:Yes / No][; FlashColor:255,255,255,0][; FlashInterval:0.5][Position:TopRight / TopLeft / TopCenter / BottomRight / BottomLeft / BottomCenter / ScreenCenter][; Source:??][; CloseBoxForbidden:Yes / No]";

[0131] The above command is used to display text information and can be used to present text stimuli or prompts. Among them: Text sets the text content to be displayed, Margin is the margin between the text and the window border, Width sets the width of each line of text display, Source is used to set the media file name to be played simultaneously when displaying the text, and the rest is the same as the above "Presenting Audio Information (Alarm)".

[0132] (6) Presenting Picture ShowPicture:

[0133] Command = "ShowPicture#Source:???[; Height:nnn][; Width:nnn][; Flash:Yes / No][; FlashColor:255,255,255,0][; FlashInterval:0.5][; Position:TopRight / TopLeft / TopCenter / BottomRight / BottomLeft / BottomCenter / ScreenCenter][IfMaxWin:Yes / No][; CloseBoxForbidden:Yes / No]";

[0134] The above command is used to display pictures and can be used to present picture stimuli or explanations. Among them: Source is used to set the picture file name to be presented, Height and Width set the width and height of the picture display, IfMaxWin sets whether to maximize the window, and the rest is the same as the above "Presenting Audio Information (Alarm)".

[0135] (7) Playing Audio and Video PlayAudio and PlayVideo:

[0136] Command = "PlayAudio / PlayVideo#Source:???[;Loop:Yes / No][;Height:nnn][;Width:nnn][;Flash:Yes / No][;FlashColor:255,255,255,0][;FlashInterval:0.5][;Position:TopRight / TopLeft / TopCenter / BottomRight / BottomLeft / BottomCenter / ScreenCenter][IfMaxWin:Yes / No][;CloseBoxForbidden:Yes / No]";

[0137] The above command is used to play audio and video, and can be used to present audio-visual stimuli or explanations. Among them: Source is used to set the audio and video file name to be presented, Height and Width set the width and height of the audio and video display, and the rest is the same as "Present Audio Information (Alarm)" above.

[0138] (8) Set countdown and time pressure SetCountdown and SetTimePressure:

[0139] Command = "SetCountdown / SetTimePressure#TimeAmount:nnn[;Source:???][;Tip:???][;FontSize:16][;FontColor:255,0,100,0][;Flash:Yes / No][;FlashColor:255,255,255,0][;FlashInterval:0.5][AvailableTimeFormat:0|99 / 0 minutes 99 seconds / 0 seconds;][AvailableTimeFontName:Times New Roman;][AvailableTimeFontSize:16;][AvailableTimeFontColor:255,0,100,0;][Position:TopRight / TopLeft / TopCenter / BottomRight / BottomLeft / BottomCenter / ScreenCenter][IfVisible:Yes / No]";

[0140] The above commands are used to set a countdown (without showing a window) and impose time pressure (showing the time value in a window and playing the sound of the clock ticking), which can be used to induce time pressure stress. Among them: TimeAmount is used to set the timing length (in seconds); Source is used to set the audio file name of the clock ticking sound; Tip sets the prompt text, and the default value is "Remaining time (seconds):", and the remaining time is displayed after it; IfVisible sets whether to show the window; AvailableTimeFormat is used to set the display format of the remaining time, "0" represents a value with an indefinite number of digits, "99" represents a two-digit number, "0|99" represents a format that will be displayed as "??:??", and the default format is "0 seconds", that is, the total number of seconds is displayed; AvailableTimeFontName, AvailableTimeFontSize, and AvailableTimeFontColor respectively set the display font, size, and color of the remaining time; the rest is the same as the above "Present audio information (alarm)".

[0141] Special note: When this command ends, a variable named "TimeEnded" will be set: if it times out, its value will be set to "OutOfTime"; if the end condition is met, its value will be set to "EndConditionMatched"; if the value of the variable composed of "StopTimeCounting_" and ActionID (a specific variable used to end the timing) is "Yes", then the value of "TimeEnded" will be set to "StoppedByStopTimeCountingSetting".

[0142] (9) Execute the program RunProgram:

[0143] Command = "RunProgram#Source:???" is used to start the application specified by Source on the participant side. The application file name set by Source can be either a regular EXE file or a file name that can be opened by the default application of other operating systems, such as a web link.

[0144] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the responses of multiple parties include at least one of button response, keyboard response, and mouse response.

[0145] Specifically, the response method of the participant: For the display of text information, pictures, and audio / video components, the participant's corresponding method can be set in the action definition, and the specific method is as follows:

[0146] <responsetips> ？？？< / responsetips>

[0147] <responsetype>Button: ??? [, ???, […]] / Keyboard: ??? / MouseClick: ???< / responsetype> ;

[0148] Among them: ResponseTips is the text content, which will be displayed above the display window of the above components to prompt the test taker on how to respond; ResponseType specifies the response type, including the following:

[0149] Button: Specifies button response. Multiple button texts can be specified to automatically generate multiple buttons. After clicking any button, it will exit and return the text of the clicked button.

[0150] Keyboard: Specifies keyboard response. After clicking any keyboard key, it will exit and return the keyboard code of the pressed key.

[0151] MouseClick: Specifies mouse response. After clicking any mouse button, it will exit and return the code of the clicked button.

[0152] In the experimental platform proposed in this application, the responses of the test takers will be recorded in the log by the experimental platform management control system.

[0153] Thus, based on the unified architecture and open information transfer and sharing protocol proposed in this application, people, machines, interaction devices, measurement devices, simulation systems, etc. can all be incorporated, thereby supporting multi-party (people or systems) to interact, collaborate, and integrate through the network, and the structure can be flexibly configured. The experimental platform management control system implemented based on the technology of this application can interpret and execute the experimental script files defined in xml format, control the experimental process, monitor the experimental progress, and record the experimental data.

[0154] In addition, this application provides an event-driven general framework. Variables representing event states and experimental parameters can be set at each experimental level and can be changed by other levels or external programs. Each experimental action can use variables to define the start and end conditions, thereby realizing complex event logic. Event-driven is the biggest difference between realistic task human factor experiments and basic research experiments in fields such as psychology, that is, the task process cannot achieve a determined time sequence, but often the events that occur in the task process determine whether other events will occur or how the task process will develop. Therefore, the technology of this application fills the gap in the field of human-related experiments. This application not only standardizes the experimental process control, but also standardizes the main experimental elements, and can be implemented in the form of standard components, which can support a very wide range of human factor and behavioral experiments, and at the same time greatly reduce the development workload of experimental platforms in specific fields.

[0155] The management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral experiment platform according to the embodiments of the present application generates an experiment script file and a participant file according to the experiment requirements; allocates experiment tasks to each party subject according to the experiment script file and the participant file, and generates experiment data according to the reactions and behaviors of multiple party subjects during the experiment, so as to obtain experiment results based on the experiment data. Thus, the problem that the existing experiment platform is difficult to support the general experiment requirements facing real tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation is solved, and the efficiency and scalability of experiment design in complex real task scenarios are realized.

[0156] Next, the human factors and behavioral experiment method according to the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0157] As Figure 4 shown, the human factors and behavioral experiment method includes the following steps:

[0158] In step S401, experiment requirements are obtained.

[0159] In step S402, an experiment script file and a participant file are generated according to the experiment requirements.

[0160] In step S403, experiment commands are issued to each party subject according to the experiment script file and the participant file, and experiment data is generated according to the reactions and behaviors of multiple party subjects during the experiment.

[0161] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the human factors and behavioral experiment method further includes: collecting the input and subjective feedback information of the participants, and / or presenting a preset audio file, a preset video file, a preset picture, and a preset text, and / or applying time pressure, and / or running a preset program.

[0162] It should be noted that the foregoing explanation of the embodiments of the management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral experiment platform also applies to the human factors and behavioral experiment method of this embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0163] The human factors and behavioral experiment method according to the embodiments of the present application generates an experiment script file and a participant file according to the experiment requirements; issues experiment commands to each party subject according to the experiment script file and the participant file, and generates experiment data according to the reactions and behaviors of multiple party subjects during the experiment. Thus, the problem that the existing experiment platform is difficult to support the general experiment requirements facing real tasks, event-driven, and multi-party participation is solved, and the efficiency and scalability of experiment design in complex real task scenarios are realized.

[0164] In the description of this specification, the description referring to terms such as "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in a suitable manner in any one or N embodiments or examples. In addition, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0165] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of these features. In the description of this application, "a plurality" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0166] Although the embodiments of this application have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting this application. Those of ordinary skill in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A management and control system for an open human factors and behavioral science experiment platform, characterized in that including: a file generation module, configured to generate an experiment script file and a participant file according to experiment requirements; a data forwarding module, configured to cooperate to control data transmission between multiple parties based on the declared data fields of interest of each party; a management and control module, configured to issue experiment commands to each party according to the experiment script file and the participant file, and generate experiment data according to the responses and behaviors of the multiple parties during the experiment.

2. The management control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experimental platform according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes: standard components, configured to collect the input and subjective feedback information of the participant, and / or present a preset audio file, a preset video file, a preset picture, and a preset text, and / or apply time pressure, and / or run a preset program.

3. The management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experimental platform according to claim 2, wherein The standard components include: an input acquisition component, configured to acquire the input information of the participant; a questionnaire measurement or survey component, configured to collect the subjective feedback information of the participant; a display component, configured to present the preset audio file, the preset video file, the preset picture, and the preset text; a timing component, configured to perform a countdown action according to the countdown requirement, and / or set a preset pressure duration, where the preset pressure duration is determined based on the current time pressure stress requirement; a program startup component, configured to start the preset program at the participant end; a delay component, configured to insert a preset delay duration during the experiment, where the preset delay duration is determined according to the current delay requirement.

4. The management control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experimental platform according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multiple parties include an experiment process monitoring platform at the experimenter end, a task interaction interface program at the participant end, a simulation system, an agent, an interaction device, and a measurement and monitoring system.

5. The management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experimental platform according to claim 1, wherein The experiment script file is used to describe the experiment stage, experiment actions, action start conditions, action end conditions, and variable settings, where the experiment stage includes at least one sub-stage, and each sub-stage includes multiple experiment conditions and multiple trials; the experiment actions include common pre-actions, specific actions, and common post-actions; the variable settings are used to control the experiment process and dependent variable measurement.

6. The management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experimental platform according to claim 1, characterized in that, The data forwarding module is a data forwarder.

7. The management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experiment platform according to claim 1, characterized in that The participant file is used to specify the experiment settings for each participant, where the participant file includes variable names and variable values.

8. The management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experimental platform according to claim 1, characterized in that The responses of the multiple parties include at least one of button responses, keyboard responses, and mouse responses.

9. A human factors and behavioral science experimental method, characterized in that, Using the management and control system of the open human factors and behavioral science experiment platform according to any one of claims 1-8, where the method includes the following steps: obtaining the experiment requirements; generating the experiment script file and the participant file according to the experiment requirements; issuing experiment commands to each party according to the experiment script file and the participant file, and generating experiment data according to the responses and behaviors of the multiple parties during the experiment.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, It further includes: collecting the input and subjective feedback information of the participant, and / or presenting a preset audio file, a preset video file, a preset picture, and a preset text, and / or applying time pressure, and / or running a preset program.

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