Noise-induced phase transition in the model of human virtual stick balancing

TL;DR

This paper investigates how noise influences human balance control, demonstrating a phase transition in control activation modeled by a double-well system that replicates experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a noise-driven double-well model that captures the full range of observed human balance control behaviors and reveals a phase transition phenomenon.

Findings

Model reproduces experimental distributions of control activation

Small noise changes cause abrupt shifts in control behavior

Identifies a noise-induced phase transition in the control model

Abstract

Humans face the task of balancing dynamic systems near an unstable equilibrium repeatedly throughout their lives. Much research has been aimed at understanding the mechanisms of intermittent control in the context of human balance control. The present paper deals with one of the recent developments in the theory of human intermittent control, namely, the double-well model of noise-driven control activation. We demonstrate that the double-well model can reproduce the whole range of experimentally observed distributions under different conditions. Moreover, we show that a slight change in the noise intensity parameter leads to a sudden shift of the action point distribution shape, that is, a phase transition is observed.