Abstract
Delayed Visual Feedback in Inter-Operator Social Tracking Performance
H.S.R. Kao & K.U. Smith
This research. investigated inter-operator visuo-manual tracking behavior as a closed-loop feedback controlled system. In a complex tracking task, performance efficiency was believed to be regulated by continuous real-time visual feedback of the motor performance of the operators. Delayed visual feedback(DVF), inherent in man-machine systems, was assumed to deteriorate the social tracking task. A computer system was designed to automate the task conditions, experimental process, data collection and performance analysis, and to simulate feedback delays. In compensatory tracking, two subjects were presented with identical random waves on an oscillograph recorder and required to compensate for the wave movements and also for each other's hand movements with a strain-gauge transducer. Simulated delays ranged from 0.2 to 1.5 seconds. The results confirmed the feedback assumptions. The significance of the findings is suggested for the design of mufti-operator control systems.