Human Pilot Dynamic Response In Single Loop Systems With Compensatory And Pursuit Displays

Human Pilot Dynamic Response in Single-loop Systems with Compensatory and Pursuit Displays

The primary purpose of the experimental series reported here is to investigate, on a preliminary and exploratory basis, human operator performance differences between pursuit and compensatory displays. For each display type a wide range of forcing function bandwidths and controlled element dynamics was used. The effect of the additional information provided by separately displaying both forcing function and controlled element output (pursuit) rather than their difference (compensatory) was evaluated using the mean-squared error and a quantity called the 'effective open-loop describing function' (Y beta). As a prelude to the new data, past pursuit/compensatory tracking results are reviewed, and then a tie-in is made between these and the current series.

Human Pilot Dynamics in Compensatory Systems: Theory, Models and Experiments with Controlled Element and Forcing Function Variations

The description of human pilot dynamic characteristics in mathematical terms compatible with flight control engineering practice is an essential prerequisite to the analytical treatment of manual vehicular control systems. The enormously adaptive nature of the human pilot makes such a description exceedingly difficult to obtain, although a quasi-linear model with parameters which vary with the system task variables had been successfully applied to many flight situations. The primary purposes of the experimental series reported are the validation of the existing quasi-linear pilot model, and the extension of this model in accuracy and detail.

NASA-University Conference on Manual Control