• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.673-680
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• 2010

The effects of different auditory warnings on response time and accuracy were studied in a laboratory ship-bridge work environment. Subjective preference on the type of auditory warnings was also of a primary concern. Twenty five subjects were asked to select an appropriate button for the warning sound presented with three types of auditory warning (abstract sound, auditory icon, and voice alarm) and five levels of warning situation (fire, steering failure, collision, engine failure, and low power). Results showed that the response time and accuracy was significantly affected by the types of auditory warning. The voice alarm resulted in a higher accuracy and subjective preference, as compared to the auditory icon and abstract sound. Regarding the response time, auditory icons and voice alarms were equivalent and superior to abstract sounds. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidelines for the design of integrated ship bridge systems.