Roques Axel, James Yannick, Vayatis Nicolas, Vidal Pierre-Paul
Université Paris Cité, Université Paris Saclay, ENS Paris Saclay, CNRS, SSA, INSERM, Centre Borelli, F-75006, Paris, France.
Laboratoire GBCM, EA 7528, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 15;20(4):e0321580. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321580. eCollection 2025.
Humans' remarkable technical reasoning skills have led to the development of increasingly sophisticated tools. In particular, society has welcomed the advent and democratization of machines that produce effects through indirect causal chains. Intuitively, perfect mastery of such systems should require a detailed understanding of their underlying processes. This raises the question of the boundaries of human cognitive abilities in the context of tool use. In other words, can the human brain integrate the characteristics of any tool, or are there inherent limitations? The present study investigates the potential limits of human tool-use when faced with a complex human-machine interface. To this end, professional helicopter pilots conducted realistic flights in a high-fidelity helicopter simulator. A comprehensive analysis was then conducted on the flight trajectories, the directions of movement of their primary flight command, and the tilt of their head as a function of the aircraft's tilt in the roll plane. Our findings suggest that helicopter pilots severely restrict the capabilities of their aircraft. This simplification mechanism confines the operational range of the helicopter to conditions that elicit sensory inputs comparable to those experienced in everyday life. Our results further indicate some level of prediction regarding the sensory consequences of the motor-to-mechanical transformations. In sum, we postulate that control over complex human-machine interfaces is achieved by simplification through anthropomorphism in order to facilitate sensorimotor integration. These considerations have implications for the design of human-machine interfaces and raise safety concerns when interacting with highly sophisticated systems.
人类卓越的技术推理能力推动了越来越复杂工具的发展。特别是，社会欢迎那些通过间接因果链产生效果的机器的出现及其普及。直观地说，要完美掌握此类系统需要详细了解其底层过程。这就引出了在工具使用背景下人类认知能力边界的问题。换句话说，人类大脑能否整合任何工具的特性，还是存在内在限制？本研究调查了人类在面对复杂人机界面时工具使用的潜在限制。为此，专业直升机飞行员在高保真直升机模拟器中进行了逼真的飞行。然后对飞行轨迹、主要飞行指令的运动方向以及头部倾斜度与飞机在滚转平面内倾斜度的函数关系进行了全面分析。我们的研究结果表明，直升机飞行员严重限制了其飞机的性能。这种简化机制将直升机的运行范围限制在能引发与日常生活中所经历的类似感官输入的条件下。我们的结果还表明，对于运动到机械转换的感官后果有一定程度的预测。总之，我们假设通过拟人化简化来实现对复杂人机界面的控制，以促进感觉运动整合。这些考虑因素对人机界面的设计有影响，并在与高度复杂系统交互时引发安全问题。
