Publication Date
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Kevin Bennett (Committee Member), John Flach (Advisor), Thomas Hughes (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Woodworth's Two-Component Theory (1899) partitioned speeded limb movements into two distinct phases: (1) a central ballistic open-loop mechanism and (2) a closed-loop feedback component. The present study investigated the implementation of multi-gain control configurations that utilized separate gain values for each movement phase. A target acquisition task using Fitts' Law (1954) was performed within a virtual environment using three control devices with three gain settings: mono-gain, dual-gain and continuous gain. The gain settings differed by the amount of gain values available to the participant. It was found that dual-gain and continuous gain configurations yielded lower movement times and higher information-processing rates than the mono-gain configurations. The lower gain values presented in the dual-gain and continuous gain configurations were reported to mitigate oscillations around smaller targets that were responsible for additive settling time. Implementation of multi-gain control logic could help improve performance when navigating through large spaces and acquiring small targets.
Page Count
70
Department or Program
Department of Psychology
Year Degree Awarded
2017
Copyright
Copyright 2017, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
