Effects of Mechanical Coupling on the Dynamics of Balancing Tasks

TL;DR

This study explores how mechanical coupling influences the stability and tracking ability in human balancing tasks, demonstrating enhanced stability in simulations and asymmetric effects in human experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a comparison between pseudo-neural controllers and natural human balancing, revealing the impact of mechanical coupling on stability and asymmetry in tracking.

Findings

Coupled tasks show improved stability over single tasks.

Mechanical coupling induces asymmetry in human tracking abilities.

Simulations confirm enhanced stability with coupling.

Abstract

Coupled human balancing tasks are investigated based on both pseudo-neural controllers characterized by time-delayed feedback with random gain and natural human balancing tasks. It is shown numerically that, compared to single balancing tasks, balancing tasks coupled by mechanical structures exhibit enhanced stability against balancing errors in terms of both amplitude and velocity and also improve the tracking ability of the controllers. We then perform an experiment in which numerical pseudo-neural controllers are replaced with natural human balancing tasks carried out using computer mice. The results reveal that the coupling structure generates asymmetric tracking abilities in subjects whose tracking abilities are nearly symmetric in their single balancing tasks.