Performance evaluation and optimization of human control strategy

Modeling human control strategy (HCS) is becoming an increasingly popular paradigm in a number of different research areas, ranging from robotics and intelligent vehicle highway systems to expert training and virtual reality computer games. Usually, HCS models are derived empirically, rather than analytically, from real-time human input–output data. While these empirical models offer an effective means of transferring intelligent behaviors from humans to robots and other machines, there is a great need to develop adequate performance criteria for these models. It is our goal in this paper to develop several such criteria for the task of human driving. We first collect driving data from different individuals through a real-time graphic driving simulator that we have developed, and identify each individual’s control strategy model through the flexible cascade neural network learning architecture. We then define performance measures for evaluating two aspects of the resultant HCS models. The first is based on event analysis, while the second is based on inherent analysis. Using the proposed performance criteria, we demonstrate the procedure for evaluating the relative skill of different HCS models. Finally, we propose an iterative algorithm for optimizing an initially stable HCS model with respect to independent, user-specified performance criteria, by applying the simultaneously perturbed stochastic approximation (SPSA) algorithm. The methods proposed herein offer a means for modeling and transferring HCS in response to real-time inputs, and improving the intelligent behaviors of artificial machines. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.