Improvement of the physical ergonomics laboratory is planned through the introduction of digital data processing and acquisition capabilities and in microcomputer applications involving analog to digital conversion. Undergraduate experiments in physical ergonomics involve the measurement of changes in various physiological measures under specific physical work environments. The needed equipment includes instrumentation for (1) establishing precise metabolic workloads (treadmill, ergometer), (2) monitoring human subject responses (heartrate, ventilation), and monitoring the environment. This equipment will be used in several structured experiments and undergraduate research projects.
