Title: Adaptive use of training aids to improve operators performance in manual tracking

Authors: Velusamy Subramaniam, Geok soon Hong, Kwee Boon Low

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Republic of Singapore. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Republic of Singapore. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Republic of Singapore

Abstract: Research in manual tracking can be broadly divided into two fields, viz. modelling of the human operator and the use of performance enhancing aids. Little or no research exists on the interface of these two broad fields of work, and in addition, little work exists on the effective use of training aids or minimising the training duration. This paper proposes a Fuzzy Training Aids Management System (FTMS) that is developed to analyse and monitor the performance of a human operator. The FTMS uses a training aid in the form of a directional arrow and its length is proportional to the tracking error, and exaggerated to induce the human operator to be more industrious and responsive. The results obtained indicate the FTMS is effective in reducing the training duration, and can gradually eliminate the exaggeration factor and the refresh rate of the directional arrow without any serious compromise in performance.

Keywords: manual tracking; human performance; fuzzy logic; training.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.2001.000265

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 2001 Vol.14 No.1/2/3, pp.99-108

Published online: 15 Jul 2003 *

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