A Study on the Human Factors for a Smart Cart System

In this research, we introduce a smart cart system which helps workers to perform an efficient picking operation without human errors or cost problems. Despite having searched for other relevant reviews, we could not find other published researches concerning the angle of cart handle during the dynamic movement and pick-by-cover. Thus we focused on human factors for a smart cart system affecting work performance and convenience. This experiment surveyed and was conducted using 31 participants. First, we surveyed on which location of touch screen (i.e. 250 mm and 450 mm from cart handle) was more comfortable in relation to human body parts. Secondly, we asked participants which angle of handle (i.e. vertical, 45° tilted and horizontal) was most comfortable, again in relation to body parts. Lastly, participants were asked which picking method among pick-by-cover and pick-to-light was more convenient during experiment. The results revealed that 80.6% of participants preferred a distance of 250 mm from the cart handle and 41.9% of them preferred a 45° tilted handle. Also, 71% of participants felt comfortable with the pick-to-light system and that it was more efficient and comfortable taking into consideration performance time as well as quality. We believe that this research will provide a good guideline for smart cart design as well as various options for designing smart cart.