Usability of Self-service Beverage and Snack Vending Machines

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the usability of self-service beverage and snack vending machines. The sizes and positions of the three functional configurations (i.e. product selection, payment, and product collection) were evaluated by users. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) Users preferred larger-sizes on payments and product collections. (2) For the positions of three functional configurations, users like their positions concentrated, and with the shortest movement displacement for the upper extremities, which may have better motion efficiency. (3) About the Comprehensive score for three projects, a total of 202 subjects participated in the evaluation. Project A is better than existing vending ma-chines (Project C). Project A is more suitably for user expectations and needs. There-fore, this research proposes improvement design suggestions for the sizes and positions of three functional configurations. The results of this study will provide a design reference for the vending machine industries.