Tactile Sensitivity in the One-Atmosphere Diving System JIM

The ability of divers to discriminate differences in weight and shape while working inside the one-atmosphere diving suit JIM was assessed by two experiments. In the first study five male operators each completed four series of discriminations among weights ranging from 5 to 0.5 lbs. (2.3 to 0.2 kg)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human factors 1981-06, Vol.23 (3), p.291-297
Main Authors: Curley, Michael D., Bachrach, Arthur J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmosphere
Cues
Diving
Operators
Tactile discrimination
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Summary:The ability of divers to discriminate differences in weight and shape while working inside the one-atmosphere diving suit JIM was assessed by two experiments. In the first study five male operators each completed four series of discriminations among weights ranging from 5 to 0.5 lbs. (2.3 to 0.2 kg). The operators could discriminate a weight difference of 0.7 kg with 95% accuracy when in JIM, but were unable to exceed chance expectations when the weight difference dropped to 0.2 kg. The second study measured the capability of the JIM operators to identify correctly various objects under conditions of reduced visibility while under water in the JIM suit. The operators were able to identify correctly the object on 15 of 19 trials, primarily relying on tactile cues mediated through hand manipulators.
ISSN:0018-7208
1547-8181
DOI:10.1177/001872088102300304