Manual Control Systems Including Two or More Operators

Abstract

Several types of system controlled by two or three human operators were investiaated to know fundamental characteristics of a manual control system including many human operators. Controlled systems were simulated on an analog computer. Cathode-ray-tubes were used as displays, and small light handles of disk type were used in order to eliminate dynamics of handle systems. The results showed that : In the system composed of serially connected operators, its characteristics are nearly equal to the enlarged characteristics of a unit-element. In the closed-loop system with operators connected in series, adaptive characteristics of human operators produce an undesirable influence, which can be eliminated by a minor feedback path. In the system composed of operators connected in parallel, operators' outputs tend to drift due to interaction between them. In the two-dimensional control system with strong interaction, the control by a single operator brings better results than the control by two operators.