OPTIMUM ANGULAR ACCELERATIONS FOR CONTROL OF A REMOTE MANEUVERING UNIT.
Abstract
Six subjects successfully reorinted the attitude of a simulated remote maneuvering unit (RMU) using an on-off acceleration command control system. RMU attitude was determined solely by viewing the space scene being televised by the RMU. That scene consisted of a spherical target, the earth horizon, and a star background, all of which interacted realistically as a function of the subject's RMU control inputs. The RMU was controlled under three conditions of angular acceleration: 4, 8, and 12 degrees/sec sq. Four deg/sec sq. resulted in least expenditure of fuel and most accurate rate control without a sacrifice in time. These results and subjects' preference data recommended pitch, yaw, and roll accelerations of 4 deg/sec sq. when using an on-off acceleration command control system. Subjects relied primarily on the orientation of the earth horizon for RMU roll reference. Because the horizon was not always in view, errors in roll were significantly greater than those in pitch and yaw. This result may have been an artifact of the simulation; too few stars were simulated to allow their use as an adequate roll reference. Simultaneous or separate attitude control resulted in equally effective RMU reorientation. Similarly, pilots and nonpilots performed equally well. However, pilots can usually be trained faster than nonpilots. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0637170
Entities
People
- Herbert J. Clark
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory