kyle.wbst@XEROX.COM (02/28/86)
re: Teleoperators.... Remote control of devices on the moon is not simple. I suggest the advocates of this approach read the following old book: "Delayed Sensory Feedback & Behavior" by Karl U. Smith, W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia & London, 1962. I will quote from a portion of it starting on p. 94... "All signs indicate that a feedback delay of the order of magnitude involved in earth control of space craft would be seriously detrimental to guidance operations. The effects of delayed visual feedback vary with the type and complexity of the task, but all performances requiring visual control display gross disturbance with even short periods of delay, and accuracy tends to diminish as delay intervals increase. In addition, persons performing with delayed feedback typically show striking emotional disturbances and loss of motivation in task performance."