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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/70109
Description
Title
Manual Control of Higher Order Systems
Author(s)
Gill, Richard Thomas
Issue Date
1982
Department of Study
Mechanical Engineering
Discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Engineering, Mechanical
Abstract
The theory that human operators employ internal models to aid in the control of complex dynamic systems is prevalent in the psychological and manual control literature. Yet empirical evidence and the subsequent analytical representation of such models is scarce.
In this research a new approach is developed to identify and quantify the internal model used by operators controlling a second order dynamic system. Two parameters were developed to measure the bias and variance of the internal model. This approach was then employed to compare and contrast second order tracking performance with a unique display technique, pseudo-quickening, with performance using unaided, phase plane, and quickened displays. The pseudo-quickened display provides the operator with command information, concerning the optimal control input, via variations in the cursor's intensity.
The results provided strong evidence for the concept of an internal model. Model parameters correlated with overall tracking error, discriminated between display types, and provided insight into the underlying human behavior. The pseudo-quickened display produced tracking performance equivalent to the phase plane and quickened displays. Workload, as measured by the event related potential P300 component, was reduced with the pseudo-quickened display, but not reliably so. When all subjects then transferred to a conventional display, those trained on the pseudo-quickened display were unequivocally superior in all respects. Their tracking error was lower, and their internal model was found to be more reliable.
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