Sam Lageson
Dizio Laboratory
Department of Psychology
Brandeis University
Dyadic Control of a Simulated Inverted Pendulum
Poster Abstract
This experiment was designed to compare individual versus dyadic control of an inverted pendulum model of an unstable system as well as to provide a description of the shared manual interactions that might occur as the balancing task and the degree of shared control were varied. It was hypothesized that three outcomes were possible with respect to stability achieved, namely that individual control would be better than dyadic control, worse than dyadic control, or equal in performance to dyadic control. We designed the experiment to permit observation of how participants adjusted their motor control to stabilize the pendulum when sharing control. A computer-simulated inverted pendulum model was displayed to the participants with two possible difficulties and five possible shared control variations, ranging from full control for one participant to each participant sharing 50% control. We also included four pre- and post- trials where subjects performed alone. After compiling the data, an improvement in performance for both the 50%/50% and the 25%/75% conditions can be seen relative to the conditions in which one of the participants had full individual control over the pendulum. Further analysis is being performed to evaluate the specific manner in which participants controlled the pendulum in order to adapt to the additional input from the other participant that allowed the increase in performance.
Personal Statement
This summer has been a great opportunity for immersing myself in working with my professor and being able to focus solely on my research. Being from Portland, Oregon, I never would have been able to have this experience without the funding provided by the M.R. Bauer Foundation to assist with housing and living expenses. I have able to experience what it is like to do full time research and all that entails from designing the experiment, to getting the necessary paperwork, to then actually performing the experiment and analyzing the results. As much as I have appreciated and enjoyed this opportunity through every minute I am even more grateful for the experience because of how enlightening it has been. This summer has clarified my future career trajectory and I am grateful for the knowledge and understanding that their support has allowed me to gain.