Usability Study On The Subway Train Dispatching System

With the quick development of economy, people’s requirement of travel speed and diversity of trip modes have improved at the same time. Subway, with the advantages of high-speed, safe and punctual, has been the ideal trip mode of people. The construction of urban subway has been paid more and more attention. The expansion of scale, the increasing length of line and numbers of passengers and the contraction of running interval, all of these are great challenges to subway dispatching and lead to a high requirement for the train dispatching system. In view of this, this paper studied the usability of the train dispatching system based on the dispatcher’s actual demand in order to put forward a set of methods and procedures applied to analysis and assessment for the usability of the train dispatching system. This method ensured the effectiveness and efficiency of man-machine interactive and further ascertained the efficiency and safety running of the train dispatching system.First of all, this paper did analysis of the train dispatching system by field investigation and survey. On the basis of this, there was some existing literature of usability concluded and summarized. The evaluation system of train dispatching system has been distilled from the perspective of dispatcher’s real requirements and optimized by using screening method of AHP evaluation index based on the theory of weight vector interval estimation.Secondly, it did analysis of dispatching tasks from the foundation on interview and real-time survey. A model of dispatching task information processor and a behavior framework of tasks processor based on the theory of resources were constructed. At last it structured a model of dispatching task analysis faced to the train dispatching system. Dispatcher’s basic task module base was set up and the corresponding task coding was completed.Thirdly, the usability evaluation model of the train dispatching system was constructed drawing a task-measure map based on detail analysis for dispatching task. And all of the Beijing subway dispatchers were chosen to complete the usability evaluation of the train dispatching system.At last, according to the train dispatching system of Beijing Subway line1and BATONG line, a human-machine interface simulation system of ATS based on classic tasks was developed. With using this system, the eye-tracking-based usability is tested. The correct and effective of the usability evaluation model of the train dispatching system was verified, and then it did analysis for the usability of the system.By comparing the usability test data and the evaluation results from the foundation on the usability evaluation model, this consequence reflected good relativity. Thus the accuracy and effectiveness of the usability evaluation model of the dispatching system was verified.