A space-time account of movement accuracy is proposed which represents a statistical manifestation of the physical properties of the movement control system. When errors are measured in the same plane of motion, the functions for spatial and temporal error are homeomorphic. Thus, an operator cannot trade speed for accuracy in the traditional sense - only spatial error for temporal error, or vice versa. The implications of the space-time function for an understanding of the relative contribution of operator, environment and task constraints to movement accuracy are outlined in relation to traditional time and motion study analysis.
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