Case study: perceived usability of emergency communication equipment with and without protective gloves in the cold

Communication equipment must be usable at accident sites even in an extremely cold environment. The aim was to evaluate the effect of three different glove types on the use of different TETRA phones, and on finger dexterity in the cold (-20 °C). A VAS and SUS methods were used to evaluate the usability features of the phones. Finger dexterity tests in the cold were carried out to evaluate the effect of gloves on manual performance. Results showed that the type and material of the glove affected the usability features of the phones such as the use of push-buttons and tangent buttons, changing communication group, overall handling, and the compatibility of phone with the glove (p<0.05).