Influences of joystick spring resistance on the execution of simple and complex positioning movements

To provide good proprioceptive feedback in a manual control device for a designation task, spring resistance of a joystick was optimized by adjustment of centering force and deflection nonlinearly with each other by using the psychophysical method of cross modality matching. Designation with zero and first order systems showed that the coarse adjustment was insensitive to stick and certain task parameters, although it was influenced by some biomechanical parameters and the anticipated demands of the final control positioning. Only the more difficult fine adjustment is sensitive to parameter alterations and therefore suitable for optimization attempts. The strong centering of the stick by a nonlinear degressive spring resistance facilitates fine adjustment. Through this, total adjustment time with the first order system is reduced by more than thirty percent, compared to a linear resistance. Tracking experiments affirm the usefulness and preference of nonlinear spring resistance.