Perception/Action: An Holistic Approach II

Abstract

A general systems approach was used to study the emergent properties of the human perception/action system. Two task domains, the control of locomotion and the recognition of objects from dynamic occlusion, were used to study human performance. The locomotion task involved the control of altitude. Experimental results indicate that conflicting results from studies of altitude perception can be explained when global optical flow rate is considered. Optical analyses of the structure of flow fields, empirical results from human performance studies, and control theoretical analyses of the state space all converge to indicate that altitude and speed are not independent with respect to the problem of controlling locomotion in low altitude flight. In the dynamic occlusion task, the effects of time delays, visual noise, training, and instructions have been evaluated. The results tend to support the hypothesis that information was the critical determinant of performance in the dynamic occlusion task. Mode (active versus passive observer) was only important to the extent that it made additional information available to the observer. This conclusion is consistent with research on adaptation where the 'reafference hypothesis,' in which mode played an important role, is being replaced by the 'information hypothesis.'

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 12, 1993
Accession Number
ADA271822

Entities

People

  • John M. Flach

Organizations

  • Wright State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Classification
  • Closed Loop Systems
  • Cognition
  • Control Systems
  • Depression Angles
  • Ecology
  • Engineering
  • Flow Rate
  • Human-Machine Systems
  • Low Altitude
  • Psychology
  • Societies
  • Three Dimensional

Readers

  • Robotics and Automation.
  • Theoretical Analysis.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers