(Press-News.org) Writers: Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, venere@purdue.edu
Sources: Ji Soo Yi, 765-496-7213, yij@purdue.edu
Bum chul Kwon, kwonb@purdue.edu
Related Web site:
Ji Soo Yi: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~yij/
PHOTO CAPTION:
Purdue industrial engineering doctoral candidate Bum chul Kwon demonstrates a new system that allows treadmill users to read while they run. The system, called ReadingMate, adjusts text on a monitor to counteract the bobbing motion of a runner's head so that the text appears still. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons)
A publication-quality photo is available at http://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/2013/yi-treadmill.jpg
ABSTRACT
READINGMATE: THE EFFECT OF THE CONTENT STABILIZING TECHNIQUE, FONT SIZE, AND INTERLINE SPACING ON THE LETTER-COUNTING TASK PERFORMANCE OF TREADMILL RUNNERS
Bum chul Kwon (kwonb@purdue.edu): Purdue University
Ji Soo Yi (yij@purdue.edu): Purdue University
Yu Zhu (yuzhu@purdue.edu): Purdue University
Contact information for the author to whom requests for reprints should be sent: Ji Soo Yi
Objective: Investigate the effects of font size, interline spacing, and a technology called ReadingMate on the letter-counting task performance of users running on a treadmill. Background: Few studies have investigated how runners read text while running on a treadmill. Our previous studies showed that ReadingMate had positive effects on the reading while running experience (Kwon & Yi, 2009, 2010); however, the effect of other text conditions (i.e., font size and interline spacing) and the interplay between ReadingMate and such text conditions on the letter-counting task performance are not clearly understood. Methods: Fifteen participants were recruited for the experiment. There were three main factors: display types (Normal and ReadingMate), font sizes (8-, 12-, 16-, and 20-point), and interline spacing (1.0×, 1.5×, 2.0×, and 2.5×). The researchers employed a letter-counting task. The performance was measured regarding task performance time, success rate of counting the target letter f, and number of give-ups. Results: Overall, the letter-counting task performance while running on a treadmill improved as font size and interline spacing increased, as expected. ReadingMate was more effective than normal display, particularly when text was displayed in a small font size and with dense interline spacing. Conclusion: When text must be displayed in a small font size and with dense interline spacing, ReadingMate can be used to improve the users' task performance. Application: Practical applications of ReadingMate include improving the text reading experience in shaky environments, such as in aviation, construction, and transportation.
System allows multitasking runners to read on a treadmill
2013-04-16
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