Abstract
An experiment was conducted to observe the effect of varying control sensitivity in a velocity control system. A single sine wave of 0.05 cps was used as the course input, and the subjects tracked in the compensatory mode using a pressure control. The operator was required to apply a maximum force of one ounce to stay on target when tracking with a maximum control gain, whereas eight pounds of force were required with a minimum control gain. Eight naval enlisted men received eight test runs on eight control sensitivities covering a range of 128 to 1. Test runs were one minute in length. A region of minimum error occurred at the lower control sensitivities. The overall error variation was 2.5 times for the entire 128 to 1 range of control sensitivities. The maximum average tracking error did not exceed one percent of the input amplitude.
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