Average Power as A Measure of Dexterity in Generalized Tool Use

9213234高露洁这是连续三年资助的第二年。该项目研究了一个与手工具使用相关的假设，特别强调任何已发现的设计原则在双侧微操纵器（如用于显微外科手术的微操纵器）中的应用，希望这些原则将加速这些和其他工具的进化设计和开发。要测试的假设是，优化给定任务性能的手动工具是优化操作员的平均功率输出的工具，除了在工具中耗散的功率。这一假设的基础是，设计良好的手动工具可以实现人与环境之间的阻抗匹配，从而实现快速有效的能量传递。虽然这一假设并不否认信息处理的重要性，但它避免了使用信息传输的度量，这在典型工具使用的非结构化任务中很难建立。该研究是通过一个“虚拟工具系统”进行的，该系统由一个实时工具/环境模拟组成，该模拟将力输出到图形显示器上。采用了一种新颖的仿真计算机体系结构来实现实时速率。

9213234 Colgate This is the second year funding of a three year continuing award. This project investigates a hypothesis related to the use of hand tools, with particular emphasis on the application of any discovered design principles to bilateral micromanipulators such as those used in microsurgery, with the hope that these principles would accelerate the evolutionary design and development of these and other tools. The hypothesis to be tested is that the hand tool which optimizes performance of a given task is that which optimizes the average power output from the operator, excepting power that is dissipated in the tool. Underlying this hypothesis is the notion that a well-designed hand tool serves to effect an impedance match between the human and the environment, enabling quick and efficient energy transfer. While this hypothesis does not deny the importance of information processing, it avoids using a measure of information transmission, which can be difficult to establish in the unstructured tasks of typical tool use. The study is performed with a "virtual tool system" consisting of a real time tool/environment simulation which outputs forces to a graphics display. A novel computer architecture for simulation is used to achieve real time rates.