Tracking performance as measured by time continuously on target.
E. J. Archer, Wyckoff Lb, Frank Brown · PsycEXTRA Dataset · 1954
"Twenty subjects divided into two groups corresponding to fast and slow target speeds practiced on two Mast Pedestal Sight Manipulation Tests (PSMT) for five days each. In addition to the usual cumulative time-on-target per trial, a new performance measure was obtained. A Continuous-Time-On Target recorder was activated whenever the operator scored on azimuth, elevation, and range (AER) simultaneously. This recorder had 12 interval-counters which fired successively depending upon how long subject continuously scored on AER. The intervals which were recorded ranged from 0.00 sec to 3.2 sec in unequal steps. It was expected that as subject became better practiced on this task the frequency of longer duration "hits" would increase and probably the frequency of shorter duration "hits" would decrease. In effect this would mean the mode of the frequency distribution of "hits" would shift to longer durations rather than have a uniform increase in all hit durations. These expectations were confirmed. If this method of analyzing tracking performance were continued until subjects became very well practiced, it might even be possible to differentiate between stages of practice in terms of the frequency of long duration hits after cumulative times-on-target had attained an asymptote. After five days the AER scores had not reached an asymptote. Such knowledge could be of relevance in the design of gun laying computers. Although no attempt was made to alter the characteristics of the PSMT units, except to vary the speed of targets, it seems reasonable to suppose that the continuous-time-on-target method of analyzing tracking performance could provide a more useful method for evaluating the design of gunnery equipment since in this method frequencies of hits of given duration will be governed by man-machine periodicities."--Abstract.