Delay And Uncertainty In Human Balancing Tasks First Tams Insperger by Tamás Insperger, John Milton 9783030845810, 3030845818 instant download after payment.

The question of how the inverted position of a pendulum can be stabilized is of fundamental
importance for understanding human balancing tasks. Applications range
from postural sway during quiet standing to falls in the elderly to how expertise
in a variety of balancing tasks is achieved including pole balancing at the fingertip,
tightrope walking, slack lining, skate boarding and so on. Since the “plant” is known
it is possible to develop mathematical models in concert with careful experimental
observations in order to identify the nature of the neural control mechanism. The
surprising mathematical observation is that the time delay plays an essential role in
the stabilization. The reader can test this for themselves by noting that it is easier
to balance a longer pole at their fingertip than a shorter one. But then why does the
pole always seem to eventually fall?
This collaborative effort began from a chance meeting between the two authors at
a workshop entitled “Noise, time delay and balance” held at the Banff International
Research Station (BIRS) for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery, November 8-
13, 2009. The motivating question has been whether the nervous system faces the
same challenges controlling balance that a mechanical engineer faces in stabilizing
mechanical structures.We hope that the reader will agree with us after reading these
notes that the answer is at least a qualified yes!