A biologically-inspired model for human-machine adaptation

 

Yves Rybarczyk1, Daniel Mestre1, Philippe Hoppenot2, Etienne Colle2

1Mouvement et Perception, UMR CNRS 6152, Marseille, France

2Laboratoire Systèmes Complexes, FRE CNRS 2494, Evry, France

rybar | mestre@laps.univ-mrs.fr

yrybarc | hoppenot | colle@iup.univ-evry.fr

 

Abstract

The required objective for the design of a machine to be used by a human operator is its adaptation to the user's capabilities. According to this logic, the ideal system should perfectly fit into the human sensori-motor loop. The system would disappear from the field of consciousness and the operator would use it as a "natural" extension to his/her own body.

The present study investigates a method based on biological models proposed for the control of action. We tried to evaluate whether an operator, remotely controlling the displacements of a mobile robotic device, is able to integrate the dynamical properties of the robot into his/her sensori-motor schema. The study was based on the "power law" model, linking the geometry and kinematics of a movement. The results show that the nature of the human-machine adaptation depends upon temporal aspects of the linkage between the robot's "vision" and "locomotion".

Keywords: teleoperation, biorobotics, adaptation, ergonomics, human-centered system.